


I See You

by PandaWrites_Fics



Category: Undertale
Genre: Alpha Beta Omega Dynamics, Bloodshed, Bonepile, Boss monsters - Freeform, Ectobiology, EventualSmutt, Impending Character Development, Jiggle like a moldsmal, Magic Bones, Multi, Multiverse Theory, Polyamory, Reader Is Not Chara (Undertale), Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Reader is Omega, Reader is based off an oc, Reader-Insert, Singing, Skelly-brothers are big, Soulbonds, Soulmates, Souls, Tearshed, There is no fixing the Machine, Thicc bones, Would Smooch a Ghost, You’re a Skeleton Harry, howdoitag, puns, reader is a monster, reader is thicc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:20:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 38,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24586753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PandaWrites_Fics/pseuds/PandaWrites_Fics
Summary: Not all monsters were captured in the underground all those hundreds of years ago. Any that weren’t were either hunted and dusted or managed to escape and hide away.Where you might ask?A small island just off the coast of Ebott.News reached those remaining monsters that the barrier had been broken and they were eager to rejoin their fellow monster on the mainlands. The correlation of the two collections of monsters is seamless, your village is more than happy to once again follow their queen and their new young ambassador. (Even if they are human)You had a harder time admittedly.With the loss of your family, and your village.You’re moved into the a lovely cottage and land next to mount ebott, gifted from the queen.The first five years alone.It’s now 20XX.You’re now a renown graphic artist and sculptor that works from home and preferably don’t travel into town unless completely necessary.It works for you.Until it doesn’t.You’ve gotten a new neighbour or rather neighbours, that don’t know you’re monster.They want you out of ‘their’ forest regardless of being there first or not.Well jokes on them, you’re not leaving.
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Papyrus/Original Female Character, Papyrus/Reader, Sans/Original Female Character, Sans/Reader
Comments: 232
Kudos: 792





	1. The Winds of Change

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first ever story on here! I usually prefer to just binge read works here but I thought I would give my own shot in the dark here. Sorry for any spelling or format errors, I don’t 100% know what I’m doing and kinda typing on a tablet.

A salted breeze kisses your cheekbones from beneath the ivory corbel arch situated upon the hilltop of the island, rippling the snowy folds of your robes and sending your long taffy strands fluttering behind you.  
Ahead of you and miles of sea lay the mainland, distant and yet so close all the same. 

The normal lively buzz of life from the village below was missing from the island, the why was most obvious. 

Today was a day of mourning.

The chief, his soulmate, and their unborn child; two powerful boss monsters, alpha and a rare omega with an additional underdeveloped soul had dusted yesterday after the chieftain’s pregnant mate fell down and then succumbed to her plummeting HP, the bond took him with them in mere seconds afterward.

Your parents. Your sibling. Gone. Leaving you behind with the unnerving role of leader to fill. You, a lone skeleton and young omega of the ripe age 226. 

With trembling phalanges you graze the sealed lid of the painted urn within your arms, twisting it open with a practiced patience. This ceremony was how all lost monsters were treated, the leader of the village would have a gathering with any family for a final goodbye before their dust was given to the breeze and sea to send them back to where all souls once came. Only there was no family left to receive your mother and father, your sister/brother. 

Only you. 

In the distance echos the heavy chime of a boat bell to signal to the elemental guarding the island that one of the monsters who dared visit the mainland had returned. Monsters only sailed out to collect what the land and sea could not provide. Which was saying something, given the array of items that would often wash up on the shores of the island. 

The island. 

It was the one place that was safe for lingering monsters after the war, not everyone had been collected to be sealed away into the earth. 

Families were torn apart by the rise of the barrier at Mount Ebott. Those who were left were either slaughtered or hid away in attempts to recoup from the battle, two of those few monsters had been your father and mother. It had then been a following century and ten years after your birth that they had even thought of leaving the mainland, the constant threat of discovery and fear of losing you or being dusted themselves by humans had pushed the two skeleton monsters to seek out other monsters to see if any knew of a place one could go to start anew without humans breathing down their necks.

Word spread quickly as it could given the circumstances. The skeletal trio was soon joined by stray monsters and their own families, which made it increasingly difficult to hide from humans and the loss of friends from unexpected encounters pushed the wary group further outland until your parents encountered a water elemental monster on the beach-line.

They spoke of an island just a mile or so out to sea. Unoccupied and decently sized given the small herd of monsters that had been collected, their souls dwindling from the stress of hiding. Your parents, the unspoken leaders of the crowd decided it was this or nothing and pled that the water monster lead them to this isolated slice of land.

Settling on the island had been easier than expected, upon arrival it was clear from the abundance of vegetation that is was indeed uninhabited by man. You remember your mother’s cries of relief upon the beach of the island while eager souls followed your father ahead to set foundations for their new home. You remember nights of laughter and days of perseverance as all monsters worked to build the village from the ground up. You remember playing with the other children, exploring your new home and running through the the starts of gardens, climbing trees.

You never knew the importance your parents had been given once the village had been finished, of the agreement from the fellow monsters that your father, an alpha boss monster, was dubbed the village’s chief.

Decades passed and with time the village took on life with a new vigour, without currency a trading system was invoked in its stead which blossomed small monster businesses with what they could use. A tarantula monster used her silks, the few mothering monsters (a beaver, a blue devil-like monster, and a lizard) who tended to the gardens used their harvests, there were the scavengers (a rat and his son), who plucked treasures and trash alike from the island’s beach. What couldn’t be found or made with the varying magics of the monsters was sought for on the mainland after several small boats were erected. 

It was a choice, for a monster to journey the waters and even then there was a list of requirements for a monster to even qualify for the task; stealth, strength, and illusivety.  
Many souls were lost over the following two centuries, some from injury, the elements, sickness, there were those who sailed the sea to get supplies and just never came home. Those families mourned dust that could never be collected.

Younglings and Adults alike told stories of the day the barrier would be broken and the village monsters would be reunited with those who had been damned to the depths of the earth. Your father and mother always insisted the day would come and when it did the sky would cry for all would be righted in the world.

It was when the wind billowed against your back that you tilted the pot in your arms and watched as the gust took your parents and your sibling’s dust across the sapphire waters of the sea, the kiss of the setting sun giving their essence an almost silvery shine as it glittered into the growing distance.

Rosy tears spilled down your cheeks as you stood in silence, your soul burned from the brunt of the loss, so much so that you feared the dizziness that rushed over you may be a sign your own of falling down. Disoriented, your arm outstretched to rest on a strutted stone of the arch you stood under while a nasally voice squealed distantly behind you. “______________!”

You turned your head to see your childhood friend Oscar, a sputtery beta chameleon monster, clambering up the steps of the hill with a frantic expression. He’d gone out to the mainland yesterday night to look for new wares for his father's pawnshop last you heard, a form of coping with the recent loss on the island you supposed.

There was a sliver of bitterness in the back of your mind that hissed ‘he should have been here to support you’. but you digress. “Oscar? What are you doing back so soon?” You question with a hint of concern in your tone, eyelights darting over his wheezing figure for possible injury while the reptilian monster fought to catch his breath.

“N-news... heeehhn...f-from the.. hahhk!.. m-mainland!” He managed to spit out, arms crossed over his ribs as he took gulps of oxygen to settle the ache in his body from the exertion. His normal melon-like scent was touch bitter from the distress the beta was showing, spiking your role’s need to sooth your friend as you hesitantly drew near and passed both wrists over his shoulders and expelled your own soft scent of posies with a mellow croon.

“Take it easy, no reason to rush Ossy. Catch your breath first” you insists softly while monitoring your friend’s scent, which had gradually begun to sweeten to its normal honeydew aroma.

His right eye twitched and shifted to peer up at you while the left darted toward his feet. Biting his lip Oscar gave a shake of his head and would fiddle with his outstretched tail. “That’s just it... there’s every reason to rush! ________… t-the barrier... the news has been spreadinf through the mainland’s city!”

You feel your soul clench, eyelights vanishing for a moment. The barrier? Had they reenforced it? What could the humans be buzzing about that regarded the barrier? “What of it?” You try to keep your voice even but the tremor is there as you grip your friend’s shoulders now, scenting forgotten.

“The barrier...” Oscar began, his chapped scaled lips breaking into a crooked smile “it’s been broken”


	2. Bring Them Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With this weight in your chest, you push forward. If not for yourself then for them. It will all be for them.

_"The barrier... It's been broken"_

That night, the village was thrumming in anticipation after the spectacle the reptilian monster made of himself that evening when he ran so frantically to tell you the news. Now here you sat, upon the very stump your father once did whenever he would call for a meeting or tell the tales of life before the war. The flames of the bonfire illuminated your bones, showing off the speckles of color that stained the smooth surface from either cheek and across the bridge of your nose. It was a stain of magic, of which you had such an abundance of your bones were absolutely speckled with it.

From your scapula to your funnybones, your pelvis, and some of your ribs if you recalled correctly. You didn't really check and with your ecto-figure embracing most of your bones it wasn't often that you would see them. Your mother once called your choice of display a waste of magic, back when you first summoned your curves and hair.

It wasn't that you didn't like how you looked before when you were practically a babybones, not at all, it was just what made you feel most comfortable. The way your clothes shifted with the added protective layer of pastel pink and gave you a more plump silhouette, the way your hair was such a different consistency of magic, silky almost and wispy, unlike the smooth and squishy ecto-flesh.

At first, it had been tiring, keeping up that amount of physical magic, and that led to your parents often scolding you for straining yourself for something you didn't _need_ to do. But you were stubborn, even back then. Ah to be eighteen again.

A wave of melancholy washed over you as you silently reminisced the memory of your mother and father, bringing your hand up to pull the woolen shift over your shoulders closer to yourself and cleared your throat to quiet the murmuring monsters circled around the flame. All eyes were suddenly on you, your inner omega cringed from so much attention, still, you persevered as forced your voice to ring out over the waiting monsters.

____"____ There is news from the mainland." you declared, proud of how your voice remained clear of tremors even as you continued. "The barrier that once held our King and Queen, our people, has been broken!" There had been but a second of silence before they all broke out into a roar of delight. Mates embracing and friends clapping shoulders as the elated souls began rousing conversations of packing.

Gone was the sadness of the loss of their leader, while it stung in your soul you really couldn't fault the precious people around you for expressing such euphoria. They were going to reunite with friends long lost, with families sorely missed. You now knew the feeling.

You clapped your hands once to draw attention to yourself once more while Oscar approached your side, the clementine scaled lizard pressing a firm hand upon your shoulder as you spoke "Ready yourselves. Come first light we will cross the sea, as we once did all those centuries ago and with Oscar as our guide, we will return to our royals." there was an answering cheer of agreement and the herd of excited monsters dispersed toward their homes to begin packing.

Only when they all had gone did you allow your tight smile to falter as a hand came to smooth over the center of your clavicle beneath your robes. Your soul ached and was heavy with the weight of your sorrow.

You remember when Oscar first told you the news...

✦

_The chameleon fanned his three-fingered hands about jovially as he awaited your response, smile bright before he took note of the rose drops of tears brimming your eyesockets. His smile wavered and the beta's scent fanned over you while you mentally screamed in agony._

_Finally, his answer was a hiccuped sob that ripped past your teeth and your hands came to cover your face. "They missed it..."_

_"w-what?"_

_"they missed it!" you repeat with a hitched breath, bones rattling before warm arms came winding around your shivering figure. You sounded so broken as the words escaped you "Just a week... if it had been just a week sooner... they would have gotten to see it... they deserved to see it..."_

_Oscar, upon realizing what you were talking about, cooed quietly next to your skull while bathing you with the soothing scent of honeydew and milkweed, murmuring gentle assurances as you cried into your friend's arms. Bleeding out your grief with the last person you felt safe with as your voice was lost to the evening breeze._

✦

"It's gunna be okay __________..." the chameleon assured softly, giving your shoulder a squeeze before he went off to help his father gather up what they could. You stared ahead at the homes of bustling monsters and browbones furrowed as you rubbed over your clavicle again, as if it would somehow chase away that lingering ache that just didn't seem to want to go away.

It would be okay... you were finishing your parents' duty and bringing your people home.

_**The next morning...** _

"You're sure you don't wish to join us, Elias?" you questioned the elemental while helping the others off the boat and onto the sandy beach of the mainland. Your answer was like listening to the bubbling of a creek, soft eye lights of seafoam swimming in the blue of the monster before you crinkled with an unseen smile as they refused. "Alright... thank you, again... for all that you've done for us... for my parents... We never would have been as safe on the island without you guarding the water. I hope we meet again in the future, my friend."

You grasped their hand, metaphysical water against bone always fascinated you as a child when you would pester the elemental for a piggyback ride through the waters. Elias was like a grandfather to you, always lending an ear to listen to your worries when you'd run from the village after a fight with your parents or when the weight of your responsibilities became too much. Watching over you, over your people...

You would miss him sorely.

The journey to Mount Ebott after crossing the calm waters of the sea had been nervewracking for all of five minutes when you all stumbled across your first sight of humans, with bated breath you gripped Oscar's arm to your ribs while the small gathering of humans on a walking trail came to a screeching halt at the sight of the herd monsters.

It looked to be a family of four. The two smaller humans looked enchanted as you all hurried across the path, being held back by who you assumed to be their guardians, assumably male and female while the male whipped out some sort of metallic rock and brought it to his ear. 'Odd' you muse to yourself, more at ease after seeing that none made an attempt to approach you or your people. They didn't look like the humans you saw as a young child centuries before. Gone were the hides and cloaks, they wore no visible swords or armor on their persons either. They didn't even have a mount...

You pulled your heavy cloak tighter around yourself, earning a squeeze to your upper arm from Ossy when he took notice of your discomfort. You peered from under the shadow of your drawn hood, eyelights illuminating the darkness hiding your skull to see the chameleon give you a steady nod before pulling you along and continuing your journey.

Your arms were concealed in your magic, you'd stretched your magic reserves to hide from prying eyes of unexpected encounters and as result one wouldn't guess that it was a skeleton monster leading the pack of monsters homeward. You were an omega boss monster, such a thing was about as rare as finding a fallen star. It wasn't something you usually thought about back on the island, but your mother saw to instructing you on the hurdles of your secondary gender and had you well prepared for your first heat. You never would have been able to handle half of what you could without her guidance.

You feel a prick in your soul and falter in your stride partially only for Oscar to support you, his fingers giving the unfamiliar ecto-flesh another squeeze with orange scales clashing against shiny cottoncandy pink. You assure the beta that your fine as you catch a whiff of him scenting you again, a lace of concern mingling with his normal sweetness.

Thankfully, there were no more encounters with humans during your travels through the rural parts of the mainland. Monster children began to chirp and bicker about why they all had left home to which their parents began to explain with happiness clear in their souls, it filled the silence of the journey and took your mind off the approaching opening in the dense greenery that you all had been traveling.

It would be late in the afternoon when you arrived at the valley where it looked as if camps had been set up for monsters you had yet to see in your lifetime.

Here. You all were finally here.

Oscar led you forward while the monsters of your village followed after you with barely contained excitement, which was quickly noted by the other monsters who took in the sight of the group of souls exiting the trees.

  
The first to cut off your straight shot thought the camp was an armored monster with blue scales, fiery hair, and menacing yellow eyes that were wide with what you thought was shock. Her scent was rich with the smell of kelp and seawater, it took everything in you not to scrunch your nose in the face of this alpha.

"The king and queen... where are the king and queen?" you questioned while she observed you with keen interest, murmuring something under her breath as if counting the souls lined up behind you. Finally, her gaze was back upon you with something that looked to be curiosity as she slammed the butt of a luminous blue spear to the ground. With a jerk of her head and shark-like grin, she spoke with in watery rasp that would make a cat monster shiver.

"Right this way."

The King and Queen of monsters were massive.

Father's stories of the two did them no justice as you were led to a beautiful alabaster goat monster in a purple dress marked with what looked to be a sigil, most likely the insignia of the royal family. The beta monster smelt of lavender and something sweet... butterscotch? Next to her was a burly male with curved horns adorning the top of his head and a golden beard that followed his sideburns to the toils of shimmering locks. His cloak swallowed his massive figure past his shoulders but that didn't make the King any less intimidating. An obvious alpha who smelled of sunflowers.

They stared at your group in utter disbelief.

There were calls from your monsters toward them, beckoning the royals to notice their lost subjects, scents of happiness tickled your nose as a breeze blew behind you, stirring up the aromas from your village. You'd done it.

They were home...

"Your majesties, we are the monsters that did not follow you behind the barrier all those centuries ago... We have been living secluded from the humans upon an island just west of the mountain, waiting for the day that you all would be released and we could once again be joined as one." you began with a slow and steady tone, noting how the queen's eyes seemed to glimmer with that you assumed to be tears and her paws came to cover her mouth, the king gaze over your group for what seemed to be the tenth time.

"Many have been lost, this is true and I wish I could bring them all back if just to witness this moment... for my Father always told the story of the day monsters would be freed from the underground... and the heavens would weep for all would be right in the world again" you mused with a watery pitch in your voice, blinking past rose-tinted tears. "It was him and my mother who led these monsters while we waited..."

Knocked from his daze, the larger goat monster would clear his throat and offer your cloaked self a warm smile and a twinkle in his eye. "Where is this man?" the king rumbled, his voice was a low rumble, like a boulder racing down the steep of a mountain yet held such kindness that made your soul twist in your ribcage. 'Too late... it's too late' your mind whispered mournfully while you relented.

"I am sorry to say that they both passed the day before we had received the news, your majesty..."

It would be the queen who spoke next, her soft voice embraced you like a warm blanket on a cold winter's night. Gentle. Unexpecting. You adored her already. "I am so sorry my child, come now. We have much to discuss..." she'd beckon you forward before looking to your people, **_their_ _people._** "All of you are free to explore the grounds.. find your families and friends if there are any of you who are seeking them," she exclaimed with a warm smile while the group of monsters dispersed quickly to do just that.

You looked to Oscar once more, releasing his arm finally while he gave you a reassuring smile. His voice from last night rang in your nonexistent ears. _"It's all gunna be okay ________..."_

You hesitantly follow the two royals into their tent, nodding to the King who held up the tarp-door while the queen spoke again. "I am Toriel, sweet child and that is my... husband... Asgore." she gave the horned male a distasteful look that made even you shiver before nodding slowly, taking an offered seat as the two goat monsters settled themselves.

Then began the discussion that would change your life, forever.


	3. Here You Are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time has passed, your new life has begun.

**Five years have since passed after that fateful day**.

It was told that monsters had technically been freed a month previous to the news being released, the topic had been suppressed for the matter of finality in certain aspects of monsters being back on the surface. 

You weren’t entirely sure how to feel about that. It would mean your parents had indeed been alive when the barrier had been broken, only no one knew they could head home until then. 

You suddenly found yourself feeling tired.

Others from your village were pulled aside after it was discovered that you all had been living much differently from the monsters in the underground, with little awareness of the leaps and bounds that had been made in the case of technology and convenience. 

There were classes set aside to teach you all the ropes and get you up to speed with the accumulation of knowledge those had missed.

Currency had been easy, gold was a pretty clear cut means of trade... human currency not so much. There were so many different forms and amounts that qualified for human money. 

You tried not to think too hard on it after they got into the topic of media. Monsters of the underground had access to much that the humans did, though your teacher didn’t elaborate on how when you asked her. 

The monster in question was the royal scientist, a short and stuttery omega who looked akin to a wingless dragon, with soft yellow skin and a natural nervous stature. She smelt like lemonsauares and that scent seemed to sour whenever questions arose of what it had been like underground. 

The following lessons made absolutely no sense to you. You weren’t learning anything! Mettaton hits? Tem-flake addictions? Ridiculous!

You wanted to know about the monsters you’d never seen before, about life in the underground, about why the king seemed to have this sad light in his eyes when he and the queen had discussed how your village would integrate with the others.

What had happened in the underground? What did they do for fun? For work? There was that time Alphys described the four biomes of different natures that resided in the underground. 

Hotland, a landscape of lava and stone that was just as its name described.  _ Hot _ . 

Waterfall, a humid land of grass and, well, waterfalls. You found yourself curious at the mention of bioluminescent waters and echo flowers, mushrooms that would squeak and light up all the same.

Snowdin, a town in eternal winter with trees branching out as far as the eye could see. Even now you snicker softly when you consider the implication of the name of the place.

And then the ruins, a place that had long since been shut off from the monsters when they’d moved deeper into the underground after crowding became too much. It saddened you to think that monsters could ever feel so stifled by their own families and friends. 

That was however as much as you could get out of her without having to make some sort of trade for the information, and you knew exactly what she would have too. 

To see under your cloak. 

See you’d never left the cloak behind after arriving at the monster camp, you just couldn’t get comfortable enough to really take it off nor reduce your magic to bare your hands and arms as you once had back on the island. Not that you didn’t have the magic to spare. 

It had roused some obvious curiosity from other monsters at the camp, still your village family didn’t say a word about it. They knew it was your choice to make. Admittedly it saddened you to have made your own identity somewhat of a secret, you still never did take your cloak off for any of them.

Your health began declining during the first months of being reunited with the rest of your people. The ache of your loss was still so tender and you hadn’t the chance to fully grieve before this new adventure had presented itself. 

It was Oscar who noticed your sluggishness and decline to dine with the rest of the monsters at mealtimes, expressing concern that you may be on the verge of following your mother in falling down and requesting he be allowed to check your  ** STATS ** . 

Something you had fought for some time before tiredly relenting a week after the initial conversation. Your  ** HOPE ** was low, which confused your friend, given the situation. Everyone was home, everyone was safe and happy. 

Except everyone wasn’t. 

Your parents weren’t here.

You weren’t happy.

You were relieved sure, but that didn’t mean you were happy that you were without a family. Still you didn’t elaborate and suggested it may have been stress that was the culprit for your condition. 

The worried beta thankfully accepted that.

It would be another month before it was decided you and your village were finally finished your lessons and being presented with a card of citizenship that was being prepared by the state. 

Just a card-like piece of plastic confirming you were monster and surface bound.

Alphys gifted you each with a cellphone of her own creation and the king and queen gave each monster an allowance of gold and human currency to start them off in their new lives with them upon the surface.

By then monsters had been granted the land around mount ebott and access to the city to settle and join society as an act of good faith. Though not all humans were all that happy about the leeway you all had been given. 

It was initially difficult for monsters to find jobs and homes to live in without some form of harassment. 

Violence was rare but the verbal abuse was unlike anything any monster had ever experienced. 

Humans were cruel, even now after centuries to themselves they found anything to spurn and hate with all of their hearts. 

You had heard it took another few months to establish a force of monsters and humans to serve and protect against these kinds of situations,  MFP the Monstrell Federal Policeforce. All officers swore to defend kindness and protect the souls of those who were wronged and targeted, monster or human.

That year began the protests. Humans against Monsters, Humans for Monsters, Monsters against Humans. It was a very sensitive time for anyone wanting to do.. well..  anything . 

Jobs were lost, monsters dusted, humans killed. 

Terrorist attacks on businesses and parks.

Humans are disgusting creatures, truly. Not all, but still. 

It took those three years of fighting to situate their place upon the surface without having to fear for their lives that it was finally instated that Monsters were people, (obviously) and as such, were entitled to work and go about their lives as much as any human. 

Monster businesses arose quickly after, magic infused foods were introduced to grocery stores and life began anew.

You’d heard Mrs. Cocoa, an older tarantula monster had gone into a partnership with her distant niece Muffet in the business of women’s apparel. Her silks made for the most sinfully soft lingerie and dresses. 

You would know, you had a few sets hidden away in your dresser.

Oscar and his father had a falling out when the reptilian beta came out about not wanting to scrounge junkyards for what his dad called treasures to sell. He wanted to make coffee. 

Ossy erected a small shop in what humans called the monster district of the city and began making all arrays of teas, coffees and then sweets after coming to a business agreement with Muffet.

He hopes that you visit, even if only for a chat. 

You don’t. 

Still he sends letters telling you about how wonderful things are going in the city, giving you his best wishes and talking about how you both should meet up sometime, he still doesn’t have your number.

You send letters back, dodging the topic of meeting every time. You don’t send your number.

It eats you up inside.

The rest of the monsters you once grew up with on the island had long since gone on their own ways, something that you know would have made your parents proud.

Now...

Where had you been for all this chaos?

When you had completed your classes and received your citizenship card queen Toriel expressed that she and the king had one last gift for you as a thanks for your parents efforts to keep their people safe while the rest were underground.

It was a cottage, a rather large one despite her insistence that it was an home made for a single human. It was hard to believe when you looked at the sizeable abode. 

It was secluded by the beautiful trees of mount ebott’s forest, with a chestnut logged exterior that reminded you of the huts in the island and thick hedging encircling the home from the four stepped entrance and stone path leading to the gravelled parking space connecting to the dirt road that would lead back to the town. 

Inside was something completely different from the rustic appearance outside. It was so modern, crisp white walls begging to be painted in each room and a continued theme of polished cherrywood floors. 

The kitchen was connected to the large livingspace and had everything you would ever need to cook and serve, though you felt a twinge of guilt that you may not use it to its full worth. 

Down a small corridor was an office space fitted with a curl around corner desk facing toward the door and a window facing the back of the forest ahead toward the mountain. 

Next to the office was master bedroom was nearly as large as the kitchen with a bookshelf dresser hybrid against the wall baring the window in the room and a bare mattress, still packaged. sitting on the black metal frame of an alaskan king bed. 

Your eyelights were massive beneath the hood of your cloak when you first saw it, peering upward to thank whoever was listening that the mothering goatmonster couldn’t see your face when your eyelights vanished completely. 

Was that a fucking mirror on the ceiling? Stars. Toriel insisted she show you every room in the cottage before she returned home to ready dinner for Frisk, the human child who was also the monster ambassador. You really didn’t know how to feel about that.

The bathroom was just as luxurious if not reasonably sized compared to everywhere else in the home. The walls were tiled with warm colours that seemed to envelop the space in an almost ethereal aura, the sink was centered in the large counter space with a mirror reflecting her cloaked self with a beaming Toriel and the walk-in shower behind the two of you. 

There wasn’t a shower-head and when you brought it up with the queen she got an almost quirky smirk on her lips as she beckoned you over and twisted the single knob against the stone-tiled wall. Water rained from the ceiling and pittered against the hazel tiled floors in the shower space.

“Oh”

_Oh._

That’s all you could say. 

This home was a blessing and more than you even deserved, coming furnished and waiting for your personal touches. It made your heavy soul almost lighten a smidge as unseen rivulets of rose spilled down your cheekbones.

“Y-your majesty.. this is all far too much, you don’t need to—“ you began as the two of you returned to the main room and she made for the door, the woman halting as she looked back to you with a softness you couldn’t hope to get from anywhere else but a mother.

“Nonsense, my child... I know you feel you may not have deserved all this. However you and your parents have done the royal family a great service in protecting those few monsters who had not been sealed away.”

“But—“

“You didn’t have too. Your mother, your father, they didn’t have to help those monsters, child. But they did, they did what me and my husband were unable given our situation and for that, we are eternally grateful.” Toriel murmured as she took your ecto-covered hands and gave them a gentle squeeze that was echoed in your soul.

She was wrong...

You didn’t deserve this. 

You’d been hiding yourself this entire time since meeting this wonderful woman and yet she gives you a home without asking a thing of you. 

You want to pull back your cloak, you want to. You want her to know you.

You don’t.

Toriel puts her number into your new cellphone, insisting you call her later after you’ve settled and leaves you standing in the door of your new home. 

It’s here that you’ve stayed for the past five years, avoiding the world outside as monsters and humans fight.

You were instead making your place in this forest, recouping your hope, establishing your territory and in turn accidentally scaring away your human neighbours, a family of three living in a mansion. 

_Whoops_.

Those three humans lived in a place with twelve rooms! Which is utter madness, but it made you feel a little better about living in such a large cottage by yourself. You also don’t have acres of land like they once did but you’ve a sizeable amount of forest to walk through as the seasons change. 

It’s nice for birdwatching when you’ve had a decline in commissions.

When you weren’t landscaping the immediate land of your property, you don’t dare to touch the forest and its natural beauty, you’re working. You take commission based jobs for sculpting and work on business based advertisements and branding for your long-standing clients. 

You call Toriel every Wednesday and Asgore Fridays, you never visit to meet the human child your queen is caring for but you always send a present for valued events for them, birthdays and gyftmas. 

Tori doesn’t pressure you but you can hear the sadness in her voice when you’ve made another excuse for her not to visit you or you to visit her, it makes your soul hurt but you just can’t. Not yet.

You don’t want to be thrown into a new family circle when you haven’t recovered from the loss of your own. 

So now here you stand in your office, walls long since painted messily with an array of colors in handprints as an abstract piece, pastel hair tied back in a large bun, phalanges stained grey with the same clay that was speckling your oversized tee and the thighs of your maroon sweats as you analyze your latest piece. 

It was some character from a movie and most recently a play called Beetleguise. Horrid looking being, it made your smirk as you look at the sculpted head of a jaw-gaping BG with an abundance of needle-like teeth that you’ve almost completed. 

Only you’ve run out of clay.

Sighing, you glance out the window where massive flakes of snow fall passed, the trees surrounding your home cloaked in the soft white blankets of cold. It was November, the cold weather was just beginning to settle in. It looked like it was just going into the evening too. 

Your browbones furrow as you debate going out to town for supplies or not. You did need to restock on food... paint too if you wanted this guy to have some color on him when he’s dry. 

You chuckle to yourself while admiring your work once more before relenting with a grumble, sauntering out into the hall and toward the door where your jacket was hanging.

Now do you need to bundle up so much? No, not really. You didn’t feel temperatures as much as humans or other monsters did but the last time snow had accidentally fallen into your eyesocket you had nearly had a conniption. 

Thus your attire; boots, coat, gloves, shaded goggles and scarf, looking like an abominable human as you smothered yourself in the attire. 

Go big or go home, right?

You’d be back in no time, you had nothing to worry about. Humming a nonsensical tune as you lock the door you start toward the road to walk into town, gloved hands tucked into your pockets as you go.

Oblivious to the hooded figure at the edge of the trees surrounding your open yard watching you as you go.


	4. Meet the Neighbours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Sans. They want you to what?

You had bought a bit too much.

Grunting softly, you shift while you walk along the snow-clad road toward home, shuffling the two bags in your already dual bag-draped arms, the sound of your boots tredding the freshly fallen snow filling the silence as you went. 

Would this have been easier if you’d used your magic to carry the groceries? Yes. Would your arms be sore when you woke up tomorrow? Most likely.

You didn’t like to use your magic outside too often. Magic use was still a bit touchy with humans, it spooked them and made them a touch aggressive in the face of it. There were still humans living in some of houses below ebott’s forest leading to town, much to many monsters’ surprise. A lot of them moved when it had been revealed that monsters were given the land surrounding the mountain to the entrance of the city.

Those who hadn’t were a bit more tolerable, nice even, if you were being completely honest. Though you were reluctant to admit it. You still had a distaste for them, even after all these years.

A sigh passes your teeth, misting the cold air infront of your scarf while you continue on ahead with a blind practice. You knew where you were going by now, a barricade of groceries wasn’t going to trip you up.

”well hey there, kid.”

A sudden rumbling baritone out of the blue however, would.

You give a muffled eep and nearly topple as your next step skids black-ice, the plastic bags in and on your arms crinkling while you wobble to regain your balance. An audible chuckle that tickled the nape of your spine echoing off the trees while you do.

”oops, sorry kid. Didn’t mean to scare ya. just thought i’d say hi to a new neighbour.”

Neighbor? Had the Jilts’ mansion finally been sold? You don’t remember seeing any moving vans when you passed the territory during your morning walks through your woods. 

Once you were steady you shuffled your bags about again, giving a half-hearted nod as you righted a few items.

”Neighbour huh? Well.. uh, welcome to the forest, I guess...” you mused with a nonchalant shrug before shuffling forward once again. You were just a few yards from home by now. You could hear the added pair of footsteps following behind you along the few feet as you went, it was... concerning.

“Something you need, _neighbour_?” you stressed the word, keeping your gaze forward despite the faint itch in your soul to turn and get a glimpse of whomever had moved to mount ebott’s forest.

”heh heh, yea... you could say there is. There’s _snow_ way to go about it gently, so _ice_ suppose I’ll just come out and say it” the person rumbled from your right, giving you a jolt of surprise. You could have sworn that they’d been behind you. Were those puns?

You wait for them to continue, slowing your pace in the process as you wave a gloved hand blindly in a _go on_ kind of gesture.

”you should look for new lodgings in the near future, kid.” They concluded with a sudden hollowness in their voice, bringing you to a sudden halt as you caught their words. 

What.

”What?” You mimed your thoughts, the confusion laced in your voice was clear even with your wool scarf muffling it.

”just what i said. you need to leave this forest and live elsewhere, kay?”

It was almost laughable how serious they sounded, as if their word was a finality to your choices. You try to peer around your bags at this person who had the audacity to tell you to move without giving any reason.

“Why on earth would I do that? I’m ~~happy~~ where I am.” You huff, shifting around the groceries in your arms while the person in front of you snorted.

”cause it’ll be better for us both if you’re not here for the future. Me, my bro, and our... er, _cousins_... will be much more comfortable without the likes of you in our neighborhood.” They continued rather curtly. Long gone was the lighthearted humour in their voice.

That was a stupid reason! You weren’t going to uproot your life from your home of five years just because someone didn’t want to live next to a skeleton monster. No way!

Their comfort meant nothing to you.

Finally you managed to move enough around in your arms to look between your bags and see who was speaking and stars, you felt your mind short-circuit.

A skeleton.

It was a skeleton. A big skeleton at that.  
  


He must have been at least two heads taller than yourself, though you recall your father was around his height with bones just as thick, though he didn’t look as burly as the one standing in front of you. Your bone structure was a touch more lithe like your mother, despite your curvaceous silhouette. Was it because you were a female? Or maybe because you were an omega? You suppose it didn’t matter, this guy was _big._

His perma-grin was tight on his circled skull and eyelights wary as they observed you, hands tucked away in a thick blue hoodie that was paired with a pair of black basketball shorts and...pink fluffy slippers?

”you’re... a skeleton...”

”that i am. sans the skeleton. i’d say it’s nice to meet ya but then i’d be lying.” he sounds defensive, as if your words are insulting.

”and there are...more of you?” You queried, ignoring the rude jab to confirm your suspicions. You’d never seen another skeleton monster since your parents dusted. Now there are more? You blink, recalling something. “Wait... why would you need me to move, you live in the mansion.. that place... like twelve rooms.”  
  


Your eyelights dart back to his from behind your goggles when he answered.

”well, we don’t need you coming onto our property by accident or anything either... so your moving would be the easiest solution.”

it was your turn to snort at that, “build a fence.” You retort, your earlier surprise ebbing away at the reminder that this monster was openly demanding you leave the forest. Skeleton or no, that was a dick move.

His grin tightened further and a flicker of blue tainted one of the white pinpricks in his eyesocket, his lax stance tensing. “listen here human. i’m tryin to be nice and tibia honest, you’re makin it real hard to stay that way so hows about you take my advice before you find yourself having a **b a d t i m e**...”

.

.

.

A gusts of wind blows past the two of you with a minute of silence. Two.  
  


_What_?

He thought... you were a... human?

Wait...

  
Was this chucklefuck threatening you?!

You feel your own magic flaring in your concealed sockets as you give a indignant huff and decidedly bulldoze past this rude skeleton, not even bothering to dignify his words with a response as you pick up the pace, hearing the distinct crunch of his slippered feet following you.  
  


You manage to reach your driveway before _~~someone~~_ something trips you and sends your groceries splaying out in front of you.

  
You take no damage, thanks to your layers but you can’t say the same for the more fragile items laying in front of you,

Your eggs! You swear you hear that damned monster chuckling again behind you while you get back onto your feet, gathering your things while his voice chimes in again.

”i’m serious kid, we can do this the easy way or the hard way... either way, you’re leaving this forest.”

With bags now in hand you whip around to face the defensive skeleton as you snap “you aren’t doing shit you oversized bag of bones! If you so much as think of laying a hand on me I’ll call the MFP for harassment. This is my home, it has been mine for five years and I’m not just gunna suddenly move because some _bonehead_ doesn’t want an outsider in his colossal bubble.”

You watch him wince at the mention of the task force addled with the responsibility for situations like these, his gaze narrowing at you when he practically growled. “you don’t belong here, we monsters have been through hell and back while you humans just take whatever you want... you don’t deserve it.”

That did it. You were too infuriated to correct him as you tilted your head, raising a glove to flip him the bird as you back toward your steps and up onto your porch. “Get bent, skeleton. I’m not going anywhere I don’t want to.”

”you’re moving.”

”i’m not.” You counter, unlocking your door.

”you’re gunna wish ya did, kid. i promise you that.”

”give me the best you got then, asshole! This is my home. You won’t take it from me!”

You glance toward your driveway but he’s already gone. Grinding your teeth you slam your door shut and roughly kick off your snow-coated boots to stomp into the kitchen, setting down your bags on the counter before you went through your home, shutting your curtains in every room before you came staggering back to the main room.   
  


Who did he think he was? Threatening you like that... monster or not, he didn’t have the right to assume and demand anything of you. Didn’t earn it? Didn’t earn it?! The nerve! He didn’t know you! You hadn’t caught his scent but there was no doubt the burly skeleton was an alpha, much to your displeasure. You felt another faint itch in your soul while you strip off your outdoor attire, goggles lifting to reveal tired eyelights as you sighed.  
  


”damnit... what does he know...” 

You just wanted to live your life in peace. You’d never expected to see another monster like you ever again and had become at peace with the assumption, now there was a gaggle of skeletons in the forest nextdoor that want you out of your house. You make a face as you return to the kitchen to put away your groceries, tucking each item away in its rightful place be it fridge, freezer or cupboard. Taking your packaged blocks of clay and paints to your office.

You really hoped that the others weren’t as douchey as him.

Sans the skeleton...  
  


“Tsk...” you leave the kitchen, turning off lights as you went through your home.

One shower and change of pyjamas later and you found yourself in the center of your nest on your bed. The collection of pillows and fuzzy blankets baring your scent was almost laughable but it was a cushiony haven that settled that ever present ache in your soul.

_Safe_...

  
Staring up at your reflection on the ceiling you find your hands pushing aside soft sheets and trailing over your sternum, the soft pink hue of your ecto-body glowing against your blankets like a living nightlight in the darkness of your bedroom.

Centuries as you were but even now you couldn’t help but explore your own solid magic, phalanges feathering over the sizable swells resting atop your ribs. They were big you suppose, not like the queen’s but still admirable with their cold jewelled accessories contrasting the exto-flesh. Lower, your fingers passed over the the cushiony tummy that protruded from the hem of your bunched up top, you found yourself giving your love-handles a squeeze.

Your hands smoothed down over your hips where your pelvis was completely swallowed by your magic flesh before moving on to your thighs and back up. Your magic stopped at your ankles, leaving the bones of your feet bare as your arms and lower ribs.

You stared at yourself, silken tresses of pastel framing around your skull and feel your smile return. If only slightly.

You were beautiful.

Another sigh escaped you as you let your eyes close slowly, letting sleep encroach on your mind after that simple thought and push aside the day’s turn of events for tomorrow.

Tomorrow would be better...

The next two weeks had been utter madness. Within that time you’d found yourself regretting your words of challenge toward the neighbouring skeleton as you stare at the latest _‘prank’_ that had befallen you.

He’d egged your house.

Egged... Your... _house._

Was it a silent homage to the day you two had met when you’d been sent tumbling into the snow? Or was he just an overgrown babybones. You didn’t know. What you _did_ know is that he was getting help for all of these bullshit stunts that were unfolding around you.

You rub your gloved hand over your concealed face with a muffled groan of frustration before reluctantly shuffling back into your house with slumped shoulders.

  
You were exhausted, a result of one of Sans’ more consistent tactics.

Sans had taken your final words to heart and had begun barraging your existence with what he called pranks, a discovery you made after calling the authorities as promised only for it to be dismissed as a misunderstanding. If being let off with a warning.

He’d ding-dong ditch your home at all hours of the day and night, ripping you from sleep again and again till the first wisps of sunlight bathed over the snowey trees of the forest.

Your landline rung endlessly with applications you never applied for. That you’d ever apply for. Breast reduction surgery, bedbug removal services, he’d even done his own crank calls. The cliche “is your refrigerator running?“, takeout deliveries you never made. 

You’ve had to comp five pizza delivery persons and two chinese delivery men.

You’d be pelted with snowballs from nowhere on your morning walks, quickly bringing said event to an end.

He’d quickly realized that you didn’t leave your home often otherwise and took to terrorizing you within the means he was capable of.

The lowest he’d stooped to was the repeated offence of leaving a bag of burning shit on your doorstep.

Where he got it, you’ll never know, it was just really disgusting.

And now that December was just a day away you’d been getting more commissions with the following season, people wanting gifts for their loved-ones. Who knew sculptures were such desired gifts? You didn’t question it, as long as you were paying your bills and doing what you enjoyed then you were all for it.

Or at least you would enjoy it if your weren’t so damn tired!

  
You were dressed in a pair of grey sweats and a spaghetti strapped tank-top while you currently working on a new logo for a doughnut shop on your tablet, sitting crosslegged on your couch with one of your more favoured blankets. The couch was unnecessarily large felt piece with six seats and a large foot-rest that when pulled into the center of the piece of furniture doubked as a bed-like surface.

Really you just had it to fill space in the room, and it was hella soft.

It would be a knock that pulled you out of drowsy daze amidst your work, raising your head with a jerk and your hand poising the stylus over your screen. Silence. Another knock rung out through your home, making your browbones furrow as you set your tablet aside and rose to answer your door. Another prank? You weren’t expecting anybody.

”i swear to the stars, if there’s shit back on my step I will burn down the forest. I’ll take anything else, just not that.” You muse to yourself as you lazily twist the knob and draw open the door expecting the usual lack of person and a flaming _‘gift_ ’ to be sitting on hour welcoming mat.

What you were met with was an impossibly _taller_ skeleton dressed in an odd armour-like costume that consisted of a white chestpiece and shoulderpads, black nylon that hugged his legs snugly, (stars these skeletons were big) ,and firetruck red boots.

There was that tiny tickle in your soul... you ignore it.

He had a more elongated skull than his supposed brother and a currently ajar jaw. His crimson scarf fluttered in the evening breeze and his gloved hands seemed to be poised as if holding something but nothing was there.

Oh.

There was some sort of meat scented concoction sitting on your doormat, obviously dropped by the stunned skeleton in front of you who proceeded to shout.

“GREAT GOOGLE-MOOGLY! YOU’RE A SKELETON!”


	5. Family Does Not Bare the Same Fruits.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Papyrus, the one cinnamon roll no one can be mad at.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third Person is a bit iffy, I’ll admit as much. Thank you all so much for your comments on the story’s chapters, I can’t stop smiling when I’m reading your guys’ reactions.

** THIRD-PERSOND POV  
  
**

“Well? Didja send that human running for the hills, classic?” Stretch queried, honey bottle in hand when Sans appeared in the kitchen of the skeleton brothers’ new home.

Paps was still at work, Frisk had a class field trip and he’d been assigned to watch over them that day. Red was holed up in his room, his brother was sleeping off the nightshift from before and thus would remain undisturbed by any in the household. Blue had gone out to get groceries for the home after complaining how he couldn’t make his _‘Magnificent Tacos!’_ . Mutt and Black were MIA, much like the reclusive horror brothers, who had taken to venturing deeper into the forest behind the mansion.

It was mildly concerning whenever that particular duo would seemingly disappear, last time Axe and Crooks’ had been gone for a good month before returning with bones and clothes were bathed in a red liquid. They insisted it was wild game... but Sans wasn’t entirely sure how true that was.

Sans’ was absolutely livid as he opened the fridge for a bottle of his beloved condiment, grumbling under his breath while Stretched watched with mild amusement. Seems like their neighbour had gotten under the classic skeleton’s skin, if the male’s current temper was any proof of that.

They were a human, according to Sans.

Humans were always a sensitive subject for particular brothers under this roof, given the histories in their own timelines, sure, but something about the way Sans treated the humans put Stretch off his honey. 

It was a kind of irrelevant distaste that bordered on racisim. Hell, maybe it was, what did he know? Stretch on the otherhand just wanted to keep his bro safe.

“more like rallied them up for battle...” Sans finally rumbled through a mouthful of ketchup, catching the look that the taller skeleton’s face. _Elaborate_. The blue-hoodied alpha gave a strained grin as he continued

”they’re not moving... at least not without a fight, heh. Seems they’ve got a _bone_ to pick with me.” He’d muse with a hollow chuckle, swiping his tongue over the messy spout of the bottle in his hand while Stretch groaned, dramatically draping himself halfway across the kitchen island.

”Of course they aren’t... then what’re we gunna do? I don’t wan’em around my bro... and then theres the others. Fell’n Swap would lynch them, even them Horror bros would probably go huntin’ for them.. I mean _damn_ , this human sure picked one _hell_ of a grave to lie in,”

The two both share another chuckle, each glancing off to nowhere. 

Sans raked his phalanges over his chin with fuzzy eyelights, pondering, contemplating the situation now. He couldn’t touch the human, if he did it would just open a whole new can of worms that none of the skeletons were ready for after just moving in. So how do you make someone _willingly_ move from their home?  
  
then...

he has an idea...

”heh heh heh...” the metaphorical lightbulb over his skull makes Sans’ eyelights vanish, “hey... hey stretch.” Oh does he ever have an idea. If Sans couldn’t physically move the human out by force, then he would use other means.  
  


“Hrmnh?” He cracks an eyesocket at the shorter skeleton, noting the mischievous curve of his perma-grin. 

Oh this couldn’t be good...

”i got it... how to make the human va-moose. you wanna help?” Sans’ ask with an almost playful tone, Stretched seemed to catch on when he offered a wary smirk of his own when he relented.

”Sure classic, lay it on me“ he gave a uncommitted shrug, knowing it would be better if he kept an eyesocket on the other. Make sure things didn’t get too crazy.  
  


It was then that the mansion shook at its very foundarions as the front doors were kicked open by an ever enthusiastic Papyrus, “SANS! BROTHERS! I’M HOOOOOME!” his voice bounced off the walls of the home and up the stairs. 

Sans’ felt his grin falter.

”not here... c’mon, we can talk in the lab,” he’d murmur low enough for Stretch to hear and the two made to move toward the basement door just as Papyrus rounded the corner into the kitchen. Noting the other two skeleton’s making their escape.  
  


”SANS! LAZIER ME! WHERE ARE YOU TWO OFF TO?”

”just the basement paps, me’n stretch here are gunna talk _plans_ to greet the human neighbour.” Sans relented with an easy-going smile, rocking back on his heels while sharing a glance with his companion.

“A HUMAN? THEN THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHALL PREPARE HIS FAMOUS SPAGHETTI TO COMMEMORATE THE MOMENT WHEN THE HUMAN BECOMES OUR FRIEND!”

That seemed to put the normally punny skeleton on edge, his eyelights vanishing once more. Flashing images of his brother turning to dust, snow, red eyes. The sweating skelly would quickly stutter. “n-nah bro, don’t even sweat it. we got it covered, kay? you just focus on your duties as a royal guard.”

Papyrus looked as if he wanted to argue the subject but both Sans and Stretch suddenly shortcutted into the basemen/lab space to end the conversation. The scarf clad brother would frown slightly, staring hard at the basement door before he suddenly puffed up his chest.

”NYEHEHEH, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WOULD STILL LIKE TO GIFT THIS HUMAN WITH HIS MASTERFUL SLAGHETTI! IT WILL HAVE TO BE UNLIKE ANYTHING I’VE EVER COOKED BEFORE!” He’d turn into the kitchen to prepare dinner for the others while contemplating what to cook for their new neighbour.

Meanwhile beneath the house different plans were being schemed. The space had a dull buzz of a running computer, discarded and half-full paper cups of instant coffee laid about the room and an abundance of papers littered with ciphers were draped on every flat surface.

Sans’ hand came slamming down onto a desk, his one eyelight voided while the other blared with his magic as he grinned.

_”so here’s what we’re gunna do...”_

* * *

* * *

**NORMAL POV  
**

_“GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY, YOU’RE A SKELETON!”_

•

  
“I am, yes.” You muse softly, propping a hand on your hip and lean against the ajar door as the two of your stood in your doorway. Your eyelights level but guarded as you regard this new skeleton standing before you. Was this some new prank?  
  


“B-BUT SANS SAID THERE WAS A HUMAN LIVING HERE!”

This guy seemed to be permanently shouting at you, your eyelights dimming with a brewing headache while you give a soft huff, “he never asked.” You tone was sour at the mention of the fiendish skeletal brother.

The monster seemed to process your words before he chirped again out of the blue “YOU HAVE HAIR!”

“That’s right...”

Was he just going to state everything obvious?

“HOW?”

you deadpan, wiggling your hands in a ‘ _jazz hands_ ’ motion with a sarcastic “ _Magic_...” rolling off your summoned tongue.

The skeleton made a face, head tilting like a puppy being given an unfamiliar command, “THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS NEVER BEEN ABLE TO MAKE HAIR...”

“Have you ever tried?” You countered as you arch your browbone at him, letting the name settle in your mind while the male jolted. 

_Papyrus..._ Huh.

The skeleton seemed to blue screen at your words, blinking owlishly as he brought a gloved hand up to smooth over the top of his polished skull. Meanwhile you would sigh and point a finger downward to envelop the mess on your doorstep in a pink glow as a sugary scent filled the air between the two of you. Your magic lifting it off the doormat and levitating it inside the house.

No sense in leaving the mess to freeze, after all.

”what is this?” You ask, tired eyelights following the mass floating next to your skull.

That seemed to pull him out of his silent funk as Papyrus quickly puffed out his chest like a proud bird. “THAT IS THE GREAT PAPYRUS’ LATEST CREATION! NYEHEHEH, IT IS A SPAGHETTI CAKE! I COOKED IT AS A WELCOME GIFT FOR YOU, NEIGHBOUR!”

”Spaghetti...cake?” You repeat, a tupperware from the kitchen emerging from behind you with the same wispy pastel glow as your put the mess of sauce, meat and noodles into it. Was that glitter?

Your eyelights narrow at the contents before giving a small shake of your head.

”INDEED! IT IS MADE UP OF MY FAMOUS FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI SHAPED INTO A CAKE!”

“That kinda sounds like lasagna but with extra steps...” you admit, your guarded demeanour was beginning to thaw with every passing second while you pull the floating tupperware forward into your grasp.

You look up at Papyrus to see he just continued to shine like a god damn star in your doorway. “BUT IT IS NOT, NEIGHBOUR! IT IS SPAGHETTI CAKE! EDGE IS THE ONE WHO PREFERS TO COOK THE CULINARY DISH KNOWN AS LASAGNA!”

He was jut so energetic. Sure his voice was loud but it held a brimming kindness that rung with familiarity in his pitchy voice despite only just meeting you. It was refreshing.

He, like his brother, was definitely an alpha and smelled of clementines and cinnamon.

The smell was... nice... relaxing even.

You find you can’t be mean to this skeleton brother.  
Would he want to come inside?

A sudden hesitance came over you as you righted your posture and fiddle with the container of spaghetti mess in your hands with the nervous gesture, glancing to the side.

How did these kind of things go again? It had been some time since you’ve had a guest and it would be rude to send him away after his... gift? Was it for you to eat?

Oh stars you really hoped he didn’t make you eat it.

That doormat has touched too much burning bags of shit in the past few days to allow you, in good conscious, to consume the saucy, sparkly noodles.

”would...would you maybe like to come in for some tea?” You gesture with a nod toward your kitchen, voice a touch meek with your nervousness bleeding off you in waves that you had no doubt he would pick up on. Obvious omega distress,

If he did notice. Papyrus certainly didn’t show it as his smile never wavered. Instead he gave a jovial _“Nyeheheh”_ and after knocking his boots against your doorframe, entered your house. “THANK YOU SO MUCH, NEW NEIGHBOUR! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WOULD LOVE A CUP! DO YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE GOLDEN FLOWER TEA?”

You nod again while closing the door behind him, observing the skeleton as he glanced about your roomy livingspace.

Of course you did, Asgore had gifted you with quite a stock of it last gyftmas. You’d barely made a dent in it and yet the celebration was coming again. Time sure does fly...

”I do. I’ll just get the kettle started. Please make yourself comfortable...” you answer quietly, pittering toward your kitchen, putting the tupperware away in the fridge before fishing out your kettle pot from the one of the lower cupboards and flip the sink-faucet’s handle to begin filling it.   
  


You had a guest... the first one in years. You hoped you didn’t bore him.  
You hoped your house wasn’t too bland. Would he want snacks with his tea?

A sudden shout had you jolting out of your dazed state and fumbling with the kettle’s handle.

“OH GOODNESS ME! I HADN’T REALIZED HOW RUDE OF A GUEST I WAS BEING! I HAVE YET TO ASK YOUR NAME, NEW NEIGHBOUR!” Papyrus crowed from what sounded like the marble island connecting the kitchen to the living-room behind you.

You shakily tell Papyrus your name, bringing the kettle to your glass top stove and switch on the correct element before returning to the cupboards to get out the tea.

You were suddenly getting a headache again.   
  


“______? WOWIE! WHAT A GREAT NAME! I DON’T THINK I HEARD OF A SKELETON MONSTER NAMED ________ IN THE UNDERGROUND!” you feel the skeleton’s gaze on your back as you fiddle with the box, phalanges shaking delicately under the rising pressure that was beginning to smother your soul.

You want to tell him that’s because you hadn’t been in the underground but you can’t seem to find your voice.

It’s all suddenly too much.

You weren’t ready...

You thought you were, stars truly you had, but with Sans’ campaign to get you to move, the influx of work with the coming season, and your skewered sleep-schedule you find yourself becoming overwhelmed.

It had been too long since you’d spent time with another person, with another skeleton.

You don’t realize your clutching a hand to your wheezing chest and shaking like a leaf until a mittened hand lands on your shoulder. A sudden looming present behind you brings waves of citrus and spice wafting to your nose.

Papyrus’ other hand takes the box from you and you find yourself looking to the taller skeleton with rose dewdrops clinging to the corners of your blacked out sockets.

He was still smiling, and squeezing your shoulder.  
  


Just like how Oscar used to... 

“NEIGH—Ahem! N-Neighbor! Why Don’t You Go Sit Down? The Great Papyrus Knows Enough In The Kitchen To Make Some Tea.”

So he does have a lower voice setting, it’s kinda odd to hear from him though. You’d only just met the skeleton and yet Papyrus looked like he’s more fit to be loud and boisterous 24/7.  
  


The only thing you can think of is how different this meeting has been compared to his brother. This didn’t seem like some kind of friendly act like Sans had pulled when you encountered him while walking home. No, if anything the taller brother seemed so earnest.

  
Then did Papyrus want you to move too?

When the kettle whistles to signal it’s ready Papyrus asks where you keep your cups, of which you direct him to the cupboard with your glassware. 

Before you know it the two of you are seated in your living-room, your tablet put aside for the tea set to be settled on the footrest in a gentle quiet. It soothes the thudding ache in your skull and soul.

You sip from your cup just when Papyrus breaks the brief silence. 

“How Long Have You Been Alone, Neighbor?” He asks in that same soft voice, staring at you with softer eyelights while you choke on your tea.

Ouch, you scald the back of your tongue but the magic properties of the tea quickly heals you before you have the chance to take damage.

Well that was really unexpected.

”- _ack_ \- I-I’m - _huaf_ \- s-sorry?” You manage through a sputtered cough into your palm, cheeks dusting pink in embarrassment. A spaghetti strap slipping down your right shoulder. 

How had he...?

You don’t notice the faint hue of orange upon his own cheekbones, his eyelights advert from your shoulder while he explains ”You Seem Unaccustomed To Company, Neighbour. Your Anxiety Attack Was Rather Revealing. My Brother Is Actually Prone To Them After A Fitful Sleep, However I Do Apologize If My Question Was Uncalled For.”  
  


Oh your stars, he spoke so eloquently. So polite.

How could anyone be so precious?

”Oh! No, no it’s... it’s fine, I didn’t realize I was such an open book.” You muse while peering down into your teacup, your hand quickly readjusting your tank-top’s strap. “Umh, five years...I’ve been alone here for five years.”

You also don’t see his eyes bug out at your answer.

“WOWIE! THAT’S A LONG TIME FOR A MONSTER TO BE BY THEMSELVES!” And he was right. Monsters were naturally sociable creatures, but... you remember that you’d heard once Tori had been alone in the underground for much longer. 

“I Cannot Imagine How Lonely That’s Been For You, _______. The Great Papyrus Could Never See Himself Without The Company Of His Friends And Brother, Let Alone For Five Years...”

He’s sympathizing with you? You feel that familiar itch in your soul, a shaky smile making its way on your face as you drink your tea, musing softly. “Friends, huh?...”   
  


“YES! THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS MANY FRIENDS! BOTH FROM THE UNDERGROUND AND NOW THE SURFACE, NYEHEHE! DO YOU HAVE FRIENDS, DEAR NEIGHBOUR?” Papyrus asks in his booming voice once again before he too takes a sip of his tea, his sparkly eyelights never leaving you for a moment. 

It would have been unnerving if he wasn’t so sweet.

“I d-do have one... although we haven’t talked in person since forever...” your mind wanders to the sweet beta monster, your smile wavering as the image of the chameleon enters your thoughts.

Was he doing well? How long had it been since you gotten a letter back from your friend?

He sets down his cup with a clink of glass meeting the saucer. “I SEE... THEN PERHAPS, YOU SHOULD TALK TO THEM AGAIN! PERHAPS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CAN HELP IF YOU FEEL YOU CANNOT DO SO ON YOUR OWN?” 

You blink at the skeleton in front of you, his smile unfaltering and hands clutching his kneecaps when he leaned forward. 

“I-IF THAT IS ALRIGHT WITH YOU OF COURSE, I KNOW WE’VE ONLY JUST MET, BUT—.” he suddenly trailed off with his expression becoming befuddled, seeming to be trying to find the right words as you finish your tea.

Listening to his softer mutterings are almost soothing as the tea you two were sharing before he suddenly straightened his spine “—NYEH! I W-WOULD LIKE TO BE YOUR FRIEND, DEAR NEIGHBOR!”

  
You blink again.

_What_?

You felt the heaviness in your soul waver for but a millisecond at his words, teeth parting with a sudden breath you didn’t realize you’d been holding.

Friend? He wanted to be your friend? Even though he’d only just met you, knew nothing about you. 

**.**

**.**

**.**

He truly was an endearing skeleton.

Papyrus would be the first one you’d make since rejoining the rest of monsterkind.

Toriel and Asgore didn’t quite count, they were more like unintentional parent figures. Well... actually with everything they’d done for you it may have been intentional despite those careful walls you’d placed around your soul.

Though you were still wary.

”You... want to be my friend?” The words escape you in a soft murmur, earning you a vicious nod from the skeleton in question. “Then... you don’t want me to move out of the forest? To disappear?” You ask, brow bones furrowed in worry.

Confusion clouds Papyrus’ expression as he gives a shake of his head, “OF COURSE NOT, _______! HOW WOULD I BECOME YOUR FRIEND IF YOU DISAPPEARED? WHY WOULD YOU ASK SUCH A THING?”

The answering huff that you gave had layers of frustration and relief lacing it. “Your brother... he insisted that I had to move...that it would be better for you and your cousins” Yea you were kinda snitching, but you felt validated to do so after all the shit that smily asshole had been putting you through.

  
The monster across from you gave you a hard look, as if looking for some sign of deceit before he rose to his feet. Hands on his hips as he gave his signature laugh. “DON’T PAY MY LAZY-BONES BROTHER ANY MIND, DEAR NEIGHBOUR! HE THOUGHT YOU WERE A HUMAN! AND EVEN THEN, I’M CERTAIN SANS WAS JUST BEING SILLY. HE TENDS TO TELL THE STRANGEST JOKES TO _NEW FRIENDS_...” 

You narrow your eyelights at him, there’s a tightness in Papyrus’ voice near the end of his declaration but you don’t press. 

You know what you’ve been put through was far from a joke but for some reason that you cant fathom, you just don’t have it in you to tell the skeleton about the ‘pranks’ his brother had been playing on you. Instead you smile faintly, a sudden need to give into this sweet skeleton’s assurance washing over you.  
  


“If you’re sure, Papyrus... then alright.”  
  
  


The two of you share another cup of tea before Papyrus is insisting that he must return home to get a full night’s rest so he may attend work tomorrow. You feel a little tug in your soul at seeing the alpha leaving so soon but hand over your phone with the request for him to put in his contact info, of which he does the same to you.  
  


You ask Papyrus what he does for work.

“WHY I’M A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD! I PROTECT THE QUEEN AND THE CHILD AMBASSADOR, FRISK!” he declares proudly, raising his hand to his chest plate while he beams like the natural ball of starlight he was.   
  
He knew Toriel then? You’d have to ask sometime...

“Wow, that’s really impressive Papyrus..” you murmur with a warm smile. He absolutely shines at your words, wishing you a good evening with a friendly pat atop your head before he goes barreling out into the night.   
  


You stand there for a few moments longer, looking rather dazed staring out at the gentle snowfall before you finally shut the door and twist the lock into place.

You shut things down for the night, your mind far too fuzzy to focus on work any longer. When your back in your bed it takes you almost an hour of staring at the contact on your phone in the darkness of your room before you hesitantly type out a simple message.

**BUBBLEGUM** : Goodnight Papyrus, thank you for staying for tea.  
  


of which you quickly receive an answering ping that resonates into your soul.

**THEGRATEPAPYRUS** : GOODNIGHT, _______! IT WAS MY PLEASURE! WE MUST DO SO AGAIN SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE!  
  


You find yourself mentally agreeing with his text with your phone held over your soul. You stare up at your shy reflection, squeezing the device in your hands.

You’ve made a friend.


	6. Invasion of Privacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mistakes were made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy-dappy birthday to moi! Have another chapter, you fantastical people!

“Pappy?” You murmur, phalanges neatly pressing the dough of the ravioli you’d been prepping together, sealing off the seasoned ground-beef within the pocket of pasta.  
  


_Something was off..._

“YES DEAR NEIGHBOUR, WHAT IS IT?” the skeleton answers from his post at the stove, currently stirring a red-sauce for the meal you two had been preparing that evening.

_You don’t know why, but something has definitely changed._

With another small ball of filling between your fingers you glance toward your friend with an unreadable expression, halting your prepping. “Have you told your family about me? Y’know... like your brother?”  
  


the question had Papyrus turning his head to regard you with curious eyelights while he nodded, “OF COURSE, DEAR NEIGHBOUR. I TELL MY BROTHER AND COUSINS ABOUT YOU AND OUR MEETINGS ALL THE TIME!”   
  


You and Papyrus had been friends for over two and a half weeks now.

Though you had to eat his ‘friendship spaghetti’ (a fresh batch, thankfully), before he would consider it offical.

He’d always come to your cottage to spend time together, he always told you about his days at work or his training sessions with some monster named Undyne over tea.   
  


You’d both taken to cooking meals for his family every Tuesday and Thursday, which was when he was scheduled to make dinner in the mansion of skeletons. He often wished you would come over to the large home to do so.

The kitchen was supposedly superb and had far more space to explore recipes but you declined, saying you were more comfortable in your own kitchen space.

  
You really just didn’t want to encounter Sans.

  
Now what had led to these co-op cooking sessions?

Eating Papyrus’ spaghetti...

The tall skeleton had been surprisingly receptive of your critiques after choking down a forkfull of glass-laced, glitter coated friendship spaghetti, although you hadn’t planned on telling him you didn’ like it.

You just couldn’t fight the sudden pain you felt as your magic struggled to break down the foreign objects within the food and when your scent alerted him to such distress Pap was on you in seconds, gingerly checking you over with prodding phalanges against your clothed abdomen that you clutched subconsciously, fretting and asking what was wrong.  
  


You couldn’t lie to that precious face when he was staring at you with such concern, you didn’t have the will to. You’d rather be burning in hell

In a turn of events he had appreciated your honesty, revealing that he had suspected for some time now that something was amiss when even his human friends couldn’t seem stomach his famous spaghetti. 

So now you two would practice cooking on said designated day. It was when Papyrus got off his rounds early, allowing the skeleton to drop by your home to pick out a new meal he wanted to surprise his family with.

The fact that you were learning to make things rather than eat frozen dinners and even got a serving before he left with it was just a plus.  
  


You really liked the food you and Papyrus cooked.

“That’s not what I meant... and I have a feeling you knew that” You countered, setting your task aside and wiping your hands off on the crisp white rag tucked in the front pocket of your apron.

The simple teal cover baring the picture of a hot pink cupcake with the words _“cute enough to eat”_ spayed across your chest.

Sweat seemed to speckle his skull as Papyrus adverted his gaze guiltily, stirring the sauce far more than he needed to as if to avoid the subject.

”Papyrus...” you try again, your tone wary

”N-NYEH...”

”Pappy, why haven’t you told anyone?” You ask, bringing your hands to your jean-clad hips while staring the alpha down with eyelights bright with apprehension.   
  


It got much easier to be yourself around Papyrus after the third day of spending time with him. You weren’t normally a timid omega, so when he never seemed to flaunt or force dominance when he was in your home like your mother once told you alphas were prone to do and even kept scenting to a minimum you began to slip out of that anxious shell that you first wore when the towering skeleton first arrived at your door.

Though you truly adored his scent, it was soothig and reminded you of gyftmas. 

  
“I... I TRY, ______! BUT MY BROTHER DOESN’T SEEM TO WANT TO HEAR IT! HE ISN’T VERY HAPPY THAT I VISIT YOU SO OFTEN EITHER... I DON’T KNOW WHY..” He’s wringing out his own apron in his hands, shuffling his feet like a child scolded by their mother.

“AND MY DOU— I MEAN, MY COUSINS ARE ALWAYS SO BUSY, THE ONLY TIME WE’RE ALL TOGETHER IS AT DINNER AND EVEN THEN THERE ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE SOME SORT OF FIGHT OR DISAGREEMENT.. NYOOHOO.. I DON’T MEAN TO KEEP YOU A SECRET... HONEST.”

There seems to be a sliver of tiredness in his voice, it’s unfamiliar and pulls at your soul in ways you can’t describe. He had tried to tell them? How chaotic could his house be that no one would lend a metaphorical ear to this sweet skeleton?

You soften your gaze and approach Papyrus, pulling his hands from his apron to hold. Bone against bone was still a feeling you were getting used to after such a long time of minimum contact with anyone.

You only get to see his hands in the kitchen, as The Great Papyrus does not cook with his mittens. After all, he has standards.

They’re large hands, at least a palm bigger than your own with slender fingers... piano playing hands. You suddenly wonder how your friend would fare if he ever wanted to try to tickle the ivories.

You bet he’d be great at it.

”it’s alright Papyrus... I guess I just thought maybe you told them, since everything seemed to stopped...” you mused absentmindedly.

”EVERYTHING? WHATEVER DO YOU MEAN, DEAR NEIGHBOUR?” his hands squeeze your own, filling your soul with a fleeting warmth.   
  


_Sans’ hijinx had seemed to have come to a standstill, perhaps because his brother was always visiting? Did he think you’d spill the beans about what he’s done?_

  
You hadn’t told Papyrus about the things his brother used to do before he’d met you. You should... Stars you should. You’d already been venting to Tori when she’d called in for her weekly check in, though you weren’t elaborate as to the who was doing all those things.

The mothering monster asked if you needed her to come down and see to it but... you reluctantly decline, simply telling her how much it helped to just talk it out with her instead. There was reluctance in her voice but you could tell your words pleased her greatly.

Still.

You don’t tell Papyrus, you just can’t put that kind of thing on him... he loves his pain in the ass brother so much. You really don’t want to pin him against his brother.

”it’s nothing Pappy... just talking out-loud, you know how it is...”

”INDEED I DO, DEAR NEIGHBOUR! STRETCH TENDS TO EXIBIT THAT HABIT AS WELL! HE USUALLY DOES IT WHEN HE’S FRETTING OVER HIS BROTHER, BLUE! BUT I THINK HE WORRIES TOO MUCH, MUCH LIKE MY OWN BROTHER!” Papyrus ranted as he pulled his hands free to turn back to the pot of sauce, adjusting the temperature on the stove to a simmer.  
  


You remember those names, they were two of the skeleton’s _cousins_ that he would often mention over tea. This Blue would often join him during his sparring practice with Undyne and was one of three skeletons in the mansion that cooked during the week.

If you remember correctly Blue had Mondays and Saturdays. Stretch on the other hand you hadn’t heard as much about, Papyrus often complained about him and someone else smoking in the house but you couldn’t for the life of you remember who.

”oh yea? The Great Papyrus doesn’t like having his brother worrying about him?” You query in a sweetly teasing voice, returning to your own task as you quickly make several more of the square pasta.

”NO. NOT WHEN THE WORRYING IS MAKING HIM UNWELL!” he confirms, giving a tight nod before peering over at your work. It seems to please him, his gaze approving. 

So that smily bonehead worries himself sick, huh?

‘ _Good_ ’ you think bitterly as you use up the last of the filling. He might be a good brother but that didn’t mean he was off your shit-list. 

Words still start to spill from you nonetheless.

”y’know... you’re really lucky to have someone like that worrying for you.” Its a soft murmur, laced with the phantom sorrow that echoed in your own soul. You still miss them so much... “it’s nice to have family care about your well being...”

Papyrus seems to regard your sudden melancholy expression while taking in your words. He senses that there is still much he doesn’t know about you, even though the two of you had been conversing and sharing about each other over the past few days.

You, a surface monster while he was underground, had such a different outlook to the world compared to his own.

Where he was eager to befriend the humans, you were hesitant to even be in the same room as one. He suspected it was something deeper than just a distaste for humans but you still haven’t told him why you were so ~~scared~~ nervous of them.  
  


The skeleton was getting through to you, though, he just knew it. Papyrus had been working you up to finding the nerve to go see your old friend, a chameleon monster who you had made sound like a fantastic friend.

However when he would offer to be the buffer for you and meet this person and prepare a more planned encounter, you clammed up and began releasing that distressed scent of burning sugar, immediately concluding the conversation. 

He really wanted to get to know you even more. 

  
  
“YOU ARE RIGHT, DEAR NEIGHBOUR... NOW HAVE A TASTE OF THIS SAUCE! THE GREAT PAPYRUS FEELS THERE’S SOMETHING MISSING”

♦︎

_**Some time after.** _

♦︎  
  


You wave as Papyrus hauls the pot of ravioli and sauce out the door with him, belly full with your own dinner and the kitchen long since cleaned after your friend insisted he help tidy up the mess from the cooking experience.

It was nice, having someone to talk to again.

You rub a hand over the nape of your spine as you went through your routine of shutting down the house, only when you’ve showered and are staring yourself down in the bathroom mirror do you pause.

Phalanges tracing over those speckles of colour that stained your skull.

Papyrus had been utterly fascinated with the little oddities you had, the excitable skeleton always asking questions. 

Why did you keep your ecto-body summoned? What was it like to have hair? What was the dots of pink on your bones? Weren’t you tired expending so much magic like that? Were your bone attacks the color that he thought they were?   
  


You admit that last question was a touch silly, seeing as he’d seen you use your magic before. Of course your bone attack would be the same pastel pink. Still you indulged Papyrus’ curiosity. You didn’t have to, you wanted to.

It was endearing to see the way his eyes sparkled with delight at newfound information about your person.

He was so cute... you were glad you agreed to be friends with Papyrus.

He made you feel alive again...

Even the mental image of his huge smile had you giggling softly while you shuffled off to your bedroom, crawling into your nest of a bed with a yawn and pulled a pillow to your chest as your fuzzy eyelights stared off into the darkness of your room.

You were alone again... and the quiet didn’t feel as comforting to you anymore.

That skeleton had made you miss having another voice to fill the noiseless home, miss the presence of another soul.

Heavy sockets drooped closed before long and you were swept away by dreamless sleep once more.

* * *

* * *

** THIRD-PERSON POV **

Things were getting crazy.

Stretch was currently sweating bullets as he followed his partner in crime out of the mansion toward their neighbour’s home. The two had ceased their other attempts in vandalizing and provoking after Classic’s brother had gotten involved with the human.

He didn’t want the skeleton finding out about their earlier attacks.

That fact seemed to really cheese the shorter skeleton off, despite his best efforts to hide the displeasure he felt. As if harrasing that poor stranger was a form of venting the malicious soul’s distaste for humans.

Sans’ displeasure would increase tenfold when Creampuff started to talk about how nice the neighbour was and how they were learning all types of recipes. However when he would try to go into more detail his brother would shut the conversation down and go to skulk in his bedroom or the lab.

  
The cooking lessons were something Stretch could at least come to appreciate, Tuesday and Thursday dinners were a lot more appetizing since the human’s involvement.

Then his own bro had expressed wanting to meet this so called friend not long after Creampuff’s tangents and while it made his stomach uneasy, the honey-loving skeleton found he wasn’t really as against the idea as he had originally been.

After all, they were being relatively kind and welcoming to Classic’s brother, weren’t they? Maybe they could offer his awesome brother the same kindness...

It didn’t completely detour Classic from wanting to kabosh the human’s presence in the forest and in turn break the friendship of his brother and the human had developed.

Amidst all the time that the two had been spending time together outside of the mansion, the punster was working himself to the bone to think of some way he could make the neighbour finally move.

Now they were here and Stretch was suddenly regretting agreeing to help with getting rid of the human.   
  


“Hey, Classic.. don’t you think this is goin’ a bit far?” He voiced, trying the keep the worry from entering his tone as he took a drag from his cigaret. Eyelights sizing up the cottage they stood in front off in the dead of night.

this was a mistake..

”it’s fine. we’ll just mess up the house a little... make it look like a break-in. if the human doesn't feel safe _inside_ their house then they won’t wanna live there, right?” Sans’ countered, raising a bony digit to his teeth as if his reasoning was the next blackhole theory.

It was just madness.

  
“I guess? But I dunno if yer bro would approve of your methods...” 

  
Sans waved off his words and peered into the darkened home through a window that the human had neglected closing the curtain of. They couldn’t teleport somewhere they couldn't see, after all. 

  
The punny skeleton was the first to blip into the cottage, leaving Stretch to sigh a heavy cloud of orange tinted smoke before he snubbed his cigaret in the snow at his feet and followed after the other male.

They glanced around the space, Sans already beginning to muss up the livingroom while the lankier alpha took in the surroundings.

”nice digs... might call dibs for me and my bro once this human moves...” he muttered jokingly though the unease was still there in his voice, an uncaring grunt from the other alpha as he toppled a stack of novels off a bookshelf then began to pull the cushions of a rather large u shaped couch.  
  


Stretch’s soul was tight with tension as he slowly made his way into the kitchen, catching whiffs of the familiar scent of the other skeleton’s brother laced with something... sweeter. It smelt like candyfloss and something else... something flowery. The same scent seemed to fill the entirety of the house. “Yer bro sure is around here often, I can smell ‘im already,”

”don’t remind me...” Sans grumbled, tipping a potted plant.

Meanwhile he would check cupboards, noting the array of foodstuffs and feeling another tug at his soul as the orange hooded monster called out as softly as he could. “Hey uh Classic? Why d’ya you think this human’s got so much monster food?”

Sans glanced over at the voice, browbones furrowing for a minute as if processing Stretch’s words before shrugging.   
  


“dunno, maybe they’re some sort of freak that likes to experiment with our foods.. could be cause Pap comes here to cook with em too...”  
  
  


Yea... that had to be the reason. 

  
Right?

Unbeknownst to the invading skeletons, the owner of the home had awoken from her sleep and with a drowsy grumble crawled out of her bed to get a drink of water.

Her stockinged feet gently padding across the wood floors of her room and then down the hall as she ruffled her wispy locks, her rosy magic lightly glowing off the soft sunshine yellow walls.

She hadn’t heard anything as she slid her bony hand along the wall to the light switch at the mouth of the hall, hadn’t smelt the foreign scents coming from the room in front of her until a resounding click broke the silence. The living-room chandelier lit up the messy space and in turn, the kitchen where two skeletons who’d been nosing through her cupboards would whip around in alarm to face a shellshocked omega.  
  


•

•

•

There was a minute of silence as the three had a stare off. Stretch and Sans with stunned eyelights and growing hues of colour on their skulls, the female in front of them was in a disheveled tank-top, jet-black boyshorts and fuzzy stockings.  
  


She stared at the intruders with her blacked out sockets and thundering soul.

” _Sssssshit_.”  
  


The hiss escaped Stretch, breaking that silence and bringing the scared skele-woman’s focus back to the present as she whipped both hands forward, rosy magic flaring from both eyesockets and coating her bony hands.

The two’s souls were suddenly caught and their bodies ripped from the kitchen space and pinned against the adjacent wall above the floor with resounding grunts from either.

Both quickly tried to shortcut out of the situation but only made her tighten her magic on their souls to an almost painful pressure while the frightened omega snarled defensively, her voice bouncing off the walls of her house.

**”What the _FUCK_ are you two doing in my house!?”**


	7. Into the Thick of It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stress brings you to the door of a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One extra chapter, cause I’m an impatient bish! Hehehe.

_shit_

_Shit_

**_SHIT_ **

Your soul thunders in your ribs, panicked breaths hissing through your clenched teeth as your anger battles your instincts.

You wanted to scream, you wanted to cry.   
  


_How_?   
  


How did they get in? You always had your curtains closed, they’ve never seen the inside of your home. Rose tears pool in the corners of your eyesockets, your inner omega was screaming in retaliation. ‘MESS!’

  
  
They made a mess of everything! Their scents laced in the air of your living space, your bubble. Something smokey but sweet, like roasting honeycombs and something... fresh? It was clean smelling, like the morning after a thunderstorm. 

The new smells were currently being tainted by the two pinned skeletons’ panic, smokey sweetness turned to a bitter smog and that clean scent turned mildewy, like molded moss.

You scrunched your nose at the reeking scents that came from these alphas.

Alphas.

Oh sweet stars, the omega in you wanted to run and hide. You fought with your weeping soul to keep up your aggressively defensive stance, your magic bleeding like crackling flames of fuchsia from your glowing eyelights. The atmosphere in the main room was electric.

This was your home. _Your_ territory.

Omega or not you weren’t rolling over for anyone!

” **Well?** ” You growl, gaze flickering between the two offenders currently growling at eachother while your magic stretched to fetch your phone from your bedroom.   
  


Sans just stared with extinguished eyelights, looking utterly shook with the bright blue painting the entirety of his skull, the lankier male at his side fidgeted against the wall with his own eyelights adverted and a shamefully sheepish expression on his face.

”I uh... think there’s been a misunderstanding here...” he began in a placating tone, as if he wasn’t currently trespassing with the same skeleton who had been harassing you to force you out of your home.

  
Your mind falters briefly when you realize this was probably the one who had been helping him.

Oh.

Oh Stars.

The sound of your bones rattling filled the room, though you fought off the rising panic attack that threatened to snuff out your anger and courage. ‘Focus ____! You can’t break down... not yet.’ Your mind chides, taking short breaths of the tainted air in the room.

They probably knew you were an omega by now, you could almost smell yourself with the panicked scent you were currently expelling.

”misunderstanding? _Misunderstanding_?! You bastards were terrorizing me and now I find you in my house? Messing with my shit?!” Your voice rises in pitch as your distress increases when you remind yourself of the disorder of your home.

It was almost as bad as messing with a nest. It was personal.

”anomaly...” Sans mumbles to himself in his trance, almost too quiet for you to catch

” _Shut. Up.”_ The other hisses, both having a sheen of sweat dotting their skulls when you growl at the lack of focus the skeletons had on the situation.  
  


“L-look, I know how this looks... and I don’t blame you for being afraid, but if you just let us down... we can talk about it like grown skeletons...” the orange hooded one tried again, his smile looked strained. You surprisingly don’t flinch despite the inner turmoil you were experiencing.  
  


Your phone floats past your peripheral before you look to the screen and give a soft whine low in your throat when you check the time, making your captives twitch in response.

Their eyelights widen when their own instincts tried to kick in, beginning to squirm against your magic and coaxing another snarl from you.

“ **Don’t fucking move** ” you pull them forward only to slam the two back into the wall.  
The groans that escaped them satisfying you for the moment.

  
It was 2 am

You _really_ didn’t want to disturb Papyrus, you knew he had to work tomorrow... but you couldn’t keep this up with your emotions running on high alert. So your magic dials in the number and you dart your flaming eyelights to the skeletons in front of you again.

It takes three rings but the other line picks up with a sleepy “ _Nyeh_?”

” _Papyrus_ ” your breath hitches in your throat, the tears brimming in your sockets finally breaching as fat droplets roll down your cheekbones.

The stress in your tone must have woken the skeleton fully.

”_____? What’s Wrong? Has Something Happened?” His voice is soft but you can hear shuffling as he moved about on the other end of the phone. Probably getting out of bed.

”i know it’s late and I’m sorry for w-waking you but.. can.. can you please come pick up your brother and his friend?” You’re glaring them down despite your tears, your vision is tunneling from the stress. The skeletons in question share a worried glance before their shoulders slump.  
  


Shit, your teeth clench as your try to focus on your magic.

Just a bit longer. Hold on a bit longer.

There’s a pause and a fainter voice rings through the speaker next to your skull, most likely due to him lowering the phone _“My Brother And His... OH!”  
  
_

you try not to wince as his full volume blared from the speaker “THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS ON HIS WAY! HANG ON DEAR NEIGHBOUR!”

And so resulted the scene before you, Papyrus held a gloved hand on the taller skeleton (who you now knew as Stretch) and Sans’ napes to force both to bow with him as he crows “PLEASE FORGIVE MY BROTHER AND COUSIN FOR THEIR INEXCUSABLE BEHAVIOR, DEAR NEIGHBOUR. THEY WON’T BOTHER YOU IN SUCH A WAY AGAIN”

You hear the flex of fabric and hear a faint grunt from the accused while a sudden growl rumbled from your friend, sending a shiver up your spine.

“ ** _RIGHT_**?“  
  


Sans had been trying to raise his head the entire time to look at you again, he’d just stared the whole time you’d been waiting for his brother to arrive. It was grating on your nerves. The blue-toned skeleton would be the first to break, rumbling 

“r-right bro, we’re... m’sorry.”

”Sorry... we definitely won’t do it again” Stretch conceded in a tight voice.

“NOW GET YOUR SORRY COCCYXES HOME, WE WILL DISCUSS THIS IN THE MORNING.” Papyrus declared stiffly and released them, approaching your stiff form.

The skeleton treated you like a wounded animal, his pace slow and hands raised as if to show he was no threat.

  
The hooded skeletons hesitated for a moment while observing the two of you before blipping out of your livingroom, leaving you alone with Papyrus who managed to place his hands on your trembling shoulders before the first sob escaped your teeth.

All of that stress just crashed down onto you in an instant.

They broke into your home, sullying your property with their scents, tainting your sense of security.   
  


Those blobs of rosy brine spilled down your cheeks anew and you slumped forward into the waiting chest of your skeleton friend who gently embraced you, your rattling bones and whimpers filling the silence of the room.  
  


It took twenty minutes for your crying to ebb into hiccuped breaths.

Your arms were around Papyrus’ neck now and your face buried in his citrus-scented scarf while you were being cradled with ease in his one arm while he went through your home and carefully righted the messy space.   
  


When had that Happened? You don’t recall. How could he clean up your house while carrying you?

Maybe if you weren’t so tired it could have felt nice, being treated like you were a treasure, dainty, but you just felt heavy.

Like your soul was a stone at the bottom of a lake.

Suffocating.

You hear his voice, repeatedly apologizing for his brother and his antics. For not being here sooner. Just apologizing.

You want to tell him it’s fine, you’re fine. Yet you can’t find your voice.

You’re just so _tired._

Papyrus carries you to your room, after getting drowsy nod from yourself when he asked permission to enter the sacred space of course, and sets you down into the welcoming plush of your oversized nest. Snagging one of the many blankets to drape over you.   
  


You’re washed over with your own scent. Secure. Warm.

_Safe._

You feel like your head is underwater, sound is distorted and distant but you hear Papyrus wish you goodnight and the sensation of wool smoothing over your forehead before you’re swallowed by darkness.  
  


* * *

* * *

** THIRD-PERSON POV **

”ahahaahahahahaha”

The rough cackle of Red rung out over the breakfast table where seven of the ten skeletons were currently seated, the edgy skeleton laying his skull against the table and slamming his fist against it.

”y-ya thought a monsta was a ‘uman this whole time? And then ya break in ta their home?! ya dun fucked up this time, ‘nilla” he wheezed, shark-teeth stretched in a mocking grin toward the hunched figure of the skeleton in question.

Sans had his skull bowed under the glare of his brother who had brought last night’s escapades to the attention of those present that morning.  
  


Papyrus looked tired, most likely because he’d been woken at the crack of dawn to aid their _skeleton_ neighbour, but more than that he just looked so disappointed in him.

And that hurt more than any knife at any reset. He should have looked into it more before assuming, after all, you know what they say about assuming.

Black rolled his eyelights and sipped his coffee, Mutt at his side staring dully at the floor. “Yes, Yes, It’s So Humorous, Cretin. In The End It’s Just Another Monster, So Let’s Put The Subject To Rest,” of which his own brother grunted in agreement like the obedient dog he was.  
  
“who da _fuck_ are ya callin—“

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU, BROTHER! GOING AFTER PAPYRUS’ FRIEND LIKE THAT! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?” Blue huffs, wiggling a blue-gloved finger at the other hunched skeleton at the table who had gotten his own scolding from his brother.  
  


Stretch was definitely regretting agreeing with Classic’s idea now,

”Sorry bro... Dunno, bro...” he murmured sullenly, picking at his honey drowned waffles with his fork while his brother continued to scold him. He needed a smoke.  
  


Papyrus would sigh, swiping his hand down to pinch the bridge between his eyesockets. “I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY YOU’RE ALWAYS DOING THIS SANS, TRULY... I TOLD YOU THAT ________ WAS BEING AN ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL FRIEND AND YOU CHOOSE TO GO TO AND SCARE HER?” 

he doesn’t receive an answer, the accused shrinking deeper into his hoodie like a turtle instead.   
  


“BROTHER!”   
  


“Ya never mentioned your friend was a skeleton, Creampuff” Stretch murmured, unintentionally catching the attention of the rest of the table as all eyelights whipped to the armour clad male.

  
Black quirked a browbone “ _Skeleton_?”

”ye said ‘ _her_ ’ too... so its a female?” Red chimed in, setting his bottle of mustard onto the table as the edgy skeleton took sudden interest.

Souls at the table grew rowdy, buzzing with this new tidbit of information. None of the brothers had ever seen a female skeleton monster before.

”I DID SO!” There was a moment of silence as faces showed doubt. 

“O-OR AT LEAST THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAD TRIED TO! BUT NONE OF YOU WOULD LISTEN!” Papyrus defended with arms crossing, stomping his boot to the floor.

“I ALSO TOLD YOU SHE WAS A SOUL OF THE SENSITIVE SORT! BUT CLEARLY THE TWO OF _YOU_ DIDN’T HEAR THAT EITHER!” He shot a look to the two skeletons who’d been being rung out since the taller’s return to the house.

At least they had the decency to look guilty before Sans mused softly, ”maybe, but you definitely didn’t say she was an _omega_...”

An sudden uproar roused from the table, voices overlapping eachother.

”OMEGA!?”

”An Omega Skeleton Is Unheard Of!”

”holy shit, for real?”

  
“ **ENOUGH**!” Papyrus snapped, stunning the other skeletons and quieting the voices at the table immediately.

“HER PRESENTATION DOESN’T MATTER! WHAT DOES IS THAT YOU— STRETCH AND _YOU_ BROTHER, HAVE FRIGHTENED HER! I TOLD YOU, I _TOLD_ YOU THAT SHE WASN’T USED TO COMPANY THE DAY I CAME BACK FROM MY FIRST VISIT AND _NOW_ YOU’VE BOTH OVERWHELMED HER! AND... AND...” 

Orange dewdrops brim in his eyesockets as he recalled to the mess of quaking bones and tears his friend had been reduced to.

Papyrus’ phone had been dreadfully silent all morning...

“AND I STILL HAVEN’T HEARD FROM HER YET, DESPITE IT BEING THE TIME SHE NORMALLY MESSAGES THE GREAT PAPYRUS... I... I FEAR SHE MAY NOT WISH TO BE FRIENDS ANYMORE THANKS TO YOU TWO! NYOOHOO!” Pap stormed off to his room with an arm crossed over his eyes, his cry ringing after him.  
  


It was suddenly uncomfortably quiet at the table.

Blue looked distressed, Red was frowning at the table, Mutt was hunched over to lean in as Black murmured something to his brother while Sans stared after his brother with his usual laid back smile nowhere to be seen.

Sweat broke out against his skull from the pointed stares of eyelights from around the table before suddenly blipping away to his own room. The coward.

Stretch pulled his hood up over his head, rising from the table to go have a smoke outside and left his untouched breakfast behind.  
  


The two skeletons could definitely feel their sins crawling down their backs.  
  


* * *

* * *

** NORMAL POV **

Your phone was off.

Guilt ate away at you as you treaded along the road and out of the forest, knowing that Papyrus was most likely waiting for an update from you after such a distressing turn of events.

You couldn’t bring yourself to do it. You’d had your fill of the skeletons, your friend included. It had all been so overwhelming, you could swear your soul felt like a boulder when you woke up.

The stress was killing you.  
  


Who could you turn to then? Toriel had a meeting for most of the day today, something about getting the clearance for a monster gala in January and Asgore was at the gentle monsters club until late afternoon. 

  
You pull your jacket around yourself tighter as you entered town, breaths growing shaky as you pass monsters and humans on the street.

You wished you grabbed the rest of your winter garb, you just felt too exposed with just your jacket and boots.

Your feet were moving on their own, hair billowing out behind you from the pace you had set. Your destination?

Ossy’s Quala-Tea and Coffee. 

**|| If you guys are feeling up to it, play this for the coming lines!<https://youtu.be/1Hlz9scNx_Q> ||**

  
It was cute.

Small but cozy.

With a pun in the name.

You almost smile as you re-read the sign.

Your hands were shaking as you stood in front of the shop, the beat of your blistering soul pounding in your skull. You could see the inside of the shop through the window, it wasn’t busy with only a dust-bunny monster in the far corner.

Slowly you open the door, the chime of baby bells ringing above your head while you timidly step into the shop. You feel like you were going to crumble into dust right there.   
  


“Welcome! How can I—...” there’s a cheerful voice behind the counter before you’re spotted, their words wavering.

“_-______?”

You can already feel the tears brimming in your sockets as you see the familiar tangerine scales of your childhood friend when he comes out from behind the coffee bar, the chameleon hesitating in his slow stride towards you. He didn’t change a bit...

”H-hello... Oscar...” your voice sounded raspy, how much had you been crying lately?

Five years. Five long years...

You were such a shitty friend.

If he threw you out of the shop you wouldn’t blame him.

Stars, that face he’s making. The lizard monster came closer as you feel that suffocating pressure swallowing your soul whole 

He’s mad isn’t he? Of course he was, you avoided your best friend for years.

Made pitiful excuses to hide away forever

This was a mistake.

_A hUgE mIsTaKe._

_wHaT wErE yO **u EvEn ThInKiNg...**_

**_YoU wAsTe Of DuSt_ **

_**ItS yOuR fAu—** _

Familiar arms wind around your quaking figure, the distorted voice in your skull vanishing. Allowing you to hear the raspy wheeze escaping your teeth while a sudden scent of honeydew and milkweed washes over you.   
  


Memories flit before your eyelights.   
  


Stormy nights during sleepovers, scraping your bones during a game of tag...your parents dust ceremony.

”Take it that you’re finally ready?” your friend whispers into the side of your skull, giving you a gentle squeeze as he held you in his arms.  
  


Your own arms, laying limply at your sides, rise to curl around his waist while your eyelights swell and fuzz over with fat blobs of pink that spill down your speckled cheekbones.

Choking back a sob as you press your face into his shoulder, feeling the beta’s hand rubbing along your spine soothingly. You nod slowly and a pleased hum escapes your friend.   
  


“Missed you, ___________....”

You hiccup softly, squeezing Oscar’s waist.

_**”Missed you too, Ossy...So much”** _


	8. A Chase to Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A whole new meaning to late night runs.

You and Oscar exit his shop, your hands instinctively tuck into your jacket pockets while the chameleon locks the doors. Peering up at the cloudy sky, you let out a breath and admire the way the mist twists and curls in the night air before vaporizing.

”You’ve really done well for yourself, Ossy... I just wish I had been around to watch it happen, y’know?” You murmur, turning your attention back to the beta monster as he adjusts his own jacket with a quick tug to the hem.

”don’t beat yourself up about it ______… You had your own stuff going on. You still kinda do from the sounds of things. Are you sure you’re gunna be okay heading home?” Oscar asks with obvious concern on his face. The streets were empty, lit by the occasional lamppost leading toward the mountain road.   
  


You wave him off. It’s far more comforting for you now that the town isn’t bustling with souls, you think you might take to visiting at night more often after tonight, “I’ll be fine.. Don’t worry, I’ll text you when I get home okay?”

The two of you had _finally_ exchanged numbers while conversing about what the other had missed in another’s life during the five year period.

Oscar had gotten his own place shortly after his business started off, seemed humans and monsters alike loved his brew. They probably had a taste for Muffet’s sweets too but the chameleon liked to think it was all his coffees and teas that had them crawling back every time. 

If the raspberry mint tea and honey you had while hanging behind the counter wirh your friend was any proof then you had to agree with him.

It had been steeped and mixed to perfection.

  
He’d been rather concerned when you finally brought up last night’s events, a serious glint shining in his mismatched eyes when Oscar asked “You’re going to report them, right? Or at least tell the queen... wether it was a misunderstanding or not, you have to know that’s not okay _______”

”It’s complicated...” you buffer, unable to match your friend’s stare as your twiddle your bony fingers. You couldn’t do that to Papyrus, could you? The answer is uncertain.  
  


He was quiet for a long minute, sipping his macchiato before the reptile relented “I hope you at least know what you’re getting yourself into... as a person and an omega... you can’t let yourself get mixed up with such aggressive alphas like that. It’s dangerous for you, boss monster or not.“  
  


But you can only nod, because if you’re completely honest, you _don’t_ know what your getting yourself into if you stay friends with Papyrus.

Would Sans keep terrorizing you now that he knew you were an omega monster? An easy target? Would Stretch?

Your ability to trust the skeletal family was fractured and you really didn’t want to be put through such a stressful situation like that again.

Oscar gave you a long hard look as he wavered on the sidewalk with you, probably debating if he would just walk you home anyway.   
  


“Ossy, I live in MT Ebott’s forest.. do you _really_ wanna walk all the way up there and back at this hour?” You challenge as you jab a thumb toward the mountain behind you, the wind playing with your pastel tresses while you stood unaffected by the cold.

The chameleon, however, shivered and dug his hands deeper into his pockets as the gust washed over him. Gritting his teeth he would huff “I do if it means you’ll get home safe...”  
  


You frown before twisting it into a smirk as you leer forward, eyelights briefly flaring pink “Hey, are you underestimating your ex-chief?” Your skull tilted slightly as you regard Oscar with a practiced expression of intimidation.

his in turn becomes bored, scoffing at your bluff as he smirked back “no... alright, alright. Then we part ways here... but you _better_ text me, got it?”   
  


The mask melts away immediately as you give a quiet giggle and salute the male while you back towards home, “aye-aye, captain.” And twist yourself around to begin walking out of town, hands dipping back into your pockets and brushing your phalanges over your cellphone.   
  


Ah...

You suppose you should finally text Papyrus when you got home too. He was probably worried sick and it was unfair of you to ignore him all day. Sighing softly you continue in stride and listen to the quiet of the night and crunch of snow under your boots.

You were halfway out of town when you suddenly feel someone watching you. Sending shivers up your spine as you pick up the pace, eyelights darting toward the other side of the street cautiously. There.

A tall, hooded figure observes you from the other side while thick clouds of smoke billow from the darkness within their fur-trimmed hood. The cherry of whatever they were smoking just slightly visible from where you were.  
  


Well that was concerning...

You increase your pace to a brisk speedwalk now, the lamp-post that meets at the suburb and town boarder is just ahead and when you glance behind you the figure is gone. A soft breath escaped you as you slow slightly, they must have gone back inside.. 

Probably just a coincidence.

You hear a rustle to your left.

_Or not_.  
  


A boned hand clapped over your mouth and another gripped you by the hood of your jacket as you’re yanked into an alley with a muffled shriek, eyelights shrinking to pinpricks.

Your back collides with brick as the looming figure slams their one hand against the brick next to your skull and leers over you like a wolf with its prey. Their other palm still over your mouth.

”So you _are_ a lady skeleton...” your captor rumbles, the light of the lamppost outside the mouth of the alley glinting off a golden fang sitting in their jaws. Their head tilting as they look you over.

You’re shell-shocked, reeling from the sudden grab and shaking like a newborn fawn.   
  
  


_Not another one._

“You’re a pretty bird.. that’s for certain...” they chuckle as a slender phalange trailed down the curve of your jaw, the sensation sends another chill up your spine while your soul gets that now all too familiar itch. He smells like a mingle of chilli powder and caramel.

”M’lord demands your presence, _dove_.. And I’m here to see that you’re delivered to him, _personally_ ,” he draws in even closer, crowding your space with that hand bringing strands of your rose locks to his nose before releasing a low growl, fanged grin widening.

“Oh but you smell so sweet... such a _lovely_ little omega... perhaps M’lord wouldn’t mind if I had a taste of you beforehand...” The male swiped his tongue over the golden fang embedded in his jaw.

Bloody stars, his words are chilling but you find your soul fluttering at the compliment all the same.  
  


You curse your inner omega and grit your teeth, eyelights suddenly flaring as your magic licks up your hands and a wall of pink bones rush up between you and the skeleton.

He manages to jump back in time with a soft grunt, his hood falling back and exposing the stranger’s skull to you. The male almost looked like Stretch, but hardier with jagged teeth and large fanged canines, one clearly gold.

Was that a dog collar around his neck? The golden tag clipped to the accessory jangled with the sudden leap back the male had taken, his hand coming to thumb over the cotton neck of his sweater

The skeleton now seems to regard you like your some sort of undiscovered creature through the bone barrier you made, your breaths growing steadier with the added space.

The fresh air clearing your head.   
  


“Hum... seems you got a bit of fight in ya, dove... we’ll have to fix that” he chuckled darkly, summoning a large blood-orange bone in his hand and wields it like a baseball bat before swinging and breaking through your barrier.

Pastel shards disintegrating before they could sprinkle the snow at your feet.

Whelp. Fuck this then.

You vanish from your spot, popping out on the other side of the street across from the alley and spit out a curse as you stumble on the landing, hand clutching over your soul from the tug the act cause.

You were _way_ out of practice with that trick.

It’s not a second after that you feel the intimidating aura of the skeleton behind you.

Quickly you twist of your body you whip around with a pink bone in either hand and crossed in an **X** like fashion to catch his own weapon mid-swing toward your skull.

The clack of bones colliding fills the quiet street as you gawk in morbid fascination when his right eyelight is blazing magic, his grin is nearly manic. “More surprises, dove? How nice.. I rather enjoy a good game of cat and mouse...”

He increased pressure and your boots scrape against the sidewalk as your physically pushed by the force of the bone-club trying to come down onto you. 

And you’re gone again, at least managing to appear a bit further up the road and into the forest before breaking into a run. You swear you hear his husky chuckle in the trees on either side if you before a prickle of energy brushes the nape of your spine.

You vanish again, popping up another few feet ahead while catching the sudden loud thud behind you, followed by a snarled curse.

Glancing backward you see the skeleton glaring at you with his bone-club planted in the snow where you once stood.

_Fuck_! You throw a series of bones at the pursuing male only for him to swing his to knock them aside and shoot several of his own in retaliation.

Duck! Jump! Duck!

You’ve never felt so relieved for training with your father back on the island.

You raise a fence of bones to separate you both, the remainder of the alpha’s attacks clattering against them while he snarls in frustration.   
  


You blip out again.

Two more times, you don’t pause for your feet to hit the ground, hearing the frustrated roar of your pursuer in the distance before your gone again and finally drop onto your livingroom floor with a heaving gasp, your bones and soul aching with the use of so much magic in such a short period.  
  


But you can’t stop, not yet.

Rising on shaky legs you clear your house, checking every fucking window to make sure your curtains are shut without the smallest sliver of visibility into your home before you collapse to the floor again.   
  


You take a moment to stare up at the dark ceiling of your living space, heaving breaths before fishing out your cellphone and typing out a shaky message.

**BUBBLEGUM** : Home, hope you have a good night

**MANGO_RANGO:** Good. You as well, I’m glad you finally came to see me. :)

It’s better if Oscar doesn’t know about what just happened, especially with that skeleton outside. What if the Chameleon tried to come to your house and check on you?

  
Your browbones furrowed as you pull up the next contact you needed,

**BUBBLEGUM** : Hey, sorry I didn’t message today but I need to have a talk about your family tomorrow.

you’d stare at your screen for a long moment, thinking that perhaps he was sleeping when a message suddenly popped up in response,  
  


 **THEGRATEPAPYRUS:** THANK GOODNESS YOU ARE OKAY, DEAR NEIGHBOUR!! IT IS OKAY THAT YOU DID NOT TEXT THE GREAT PAPYRUS TODAY, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU HAD BEEN THROUGH A LOT LASTNIGHT. I WOULD BE HAPPY TO DISCUSS MY FAMILY WITH YOU TOMORROW, DID YOU WANT ME TO COME TO YOUR HOUSE THE AFTERNOON?

your smile was suddenly back, faint but still present as you read the text from the skeleton.

Truly, Papyrus was something else... you feel that previous guilt for ever ignoring him today return.

**BUBBLEGUM:** Afternoon works for me... I’ll have some golden flower tea and ladyfingers ready for us by then. I need to get ready for bed now.

You pick yourself up off the living room floor to finally take off your jacket and kick off your boots, gripping the black frock for a moment as you catch a whiff of that crazy fucker’s scent on the felt-like material.

Pink dusts your cheekbones at the memory of the aggressive alpha, suppressing an uneasy shiver while you take it to your laundry room, which was through the last door in your home next to the kitchen.

You must still be in shock to be this calm while tread through your dark home to your bathroom, quickly getting back into your nightly routine.  
  


The steam was helping clear your head and relaxed your magic, blue suds running down your bones and pink exto-flesh while you stared out the film-covered window to the outside. Hand raking your fingers through your hair with a huffed sigh.   
  


Stars that had been close... if you hadn’t gotten away, hadn’t been able to defend yourself...

You shudder at the thought.

Feeling fresh and dressed in one of your oversized night-shirts you belly-flop onto your nest and shimmy under the covers, peeking at your phone before you tucker off for the night.

No panic attack yet...

**THEGRATEPAPYRUS** : LADYFINGERS! HOW FANCY! I LOOK FORWARD TO IT, DEAR NEIGHBOUR! MAKE SURE TO PREPARE AN EXTRA CUP! I’LL BE COMING WITH ONE OF MY COUSINS, BLUE! NOW I TOO, SHALL READY MYSELF FOR BED. MAY YOUR DREAMS BE PLEASANT!

You find yourself bringing your hand up to your mouth, eyelights brightening a smidge with affection. He was so cute. 

Wait.   
  


He was bringing one of those cousins?

You’re typing out a frantic message to discourage the act before hovering a finger over the send button. Would it really be so bad if Papyrus was going to be there? Maybe not...

Retyping your message you send

**BUBBLEGUM:** I hope you sleep well too, Papyrus.

With that you set your phone aside on the nightstand next to your bed and flop into the plushness that was your nest, grumbling when you shift about to find the most comfortable position.

Will you be okay in the morning? You don’t really know...

Tired eyelights fuzz while you yawn, arms outstretched. Then all at once you slump like a ragdoll, letting your sockets close with a content hum and let sleep pull you away. You’d just have to deal with it in the morning.

* * *

* * *

** THIRD-PERSON POV **

Within the neighbouring mansion, in one of the many rooms of the household resides two skeletons.

Black was currently seated at the foot of his canopy bed, a leg crossed over the other and gloved fingers drumming against silken purple sheets while he observed his kneeling brother before him. Knee bouncing his propped leg impatiently.

” **Well? _Where_ Is She?**” he questioned tartly, impatience clear in the male’s gravely voice.

Mutt bowed his head lower, clutching his fist over his chest tightly when he rasped. “Got away M’lord... didn’t expect the kitten to have claws.”

There was an answering growl from his brother, the sound causing sweat to dot the taller’s skull.

” **Is That Right...?** ”  
  


So the omega could fight? Or at least dodge well enough to escape his brother...

Black found this prospect amusing, his teeth curling in a cynical grin as he relaxed his posture to lean onto his arms, skull tipping back to stare aimlessly at the velvet roof of the bed.   
  


Mutt raised his gaze to the other skeleton, watching him warily.

He knew that smile, that was the smile his brother had a plan and The Malevolent Sans’ plans were always trouble.

Poor dove.

Mutt will admit, he went a bit too far when he chased her tonight.

The way her intoxicating scent twisted to a sickening aroma of burnt sweets made the skeleton remorseful, her soft eyelights sharp with panic and an indignance that could rival Black’s coldest stares.

But there was a part of him who was enthralled by her, omega or not she was just so small and delicate looking. Like a porcelain doll.

M’lord would surely approve of her.  
  


He nearly salivated when conjuring what could possibly lay beneath those layers of cloth, what her pittering soul looked like. His soul pulsed in his ribs, a hand coming up to where the lifeforce lay under his sweater to clutch the material in confusion.   
  


That was new...

A muffled squeal akin to Creampuff’s rang through the walls of Black’s bedroom from somewhere in the house before the bang of a door being kicked and thundering steps to another’s room, rapid knocking before quiet mutterings to whomever the skeleton had visited.

Black muttered under his breath in irritation from the noise before dismissing Mutt with an effortless wave. “ **You’re Done For Tonight, Mutt. I’ll Excuse Your Mistake _This_ Time... Report to Me In The Morning For Further Instruction On Engaging This Illusive Female...**”  
  


“Yes, M’lord... pleasant nightmares” the taller bowed once before exiting the room without another word, hands diving deeply into his fur-trimmed track jacket while the hunched skeleton swaggered down the hall past Blue’s room where a rather animated but muffled conversation was humming through the baby-blue door.

So that’s who Papyrus rushed to. Mutt shrugged to himself and continued onward, passing Creampuff’s now ajar door.

Inside his double’s bedroom was Papyrus’ desk and computer, bookshelf with an array of figurines lined up in front of a collection of storybooks big and small and last of all, his of race-car bed.

Sitting atop of neat sheets was the enthusiastic alpha’s cellphone, screen still lit.

The golden-fanged gent’s eyelights sharpened at the sight of the device and he would blip next to the bed to pick it up, eyeing the messages shared between the missing skeleton and the little miss he’d met tonight.

Jealousy burned through Mutt’s bones, he was going to see her tomorrow? With that copy-cat shortstack?

Growling softly Mutt would check the contact’s number and added to his own cellphone before carelessly dropping the other’s back onto the mattress as he blipped out of Creampuff’s room and into his own.

The skeleton was in a slightly better mood now, after all, he had his Dove’s number now. He couldn’t use it just yet but that didn’t make him feel any less accomplished as a pleased rumble escaped him.

Mutt wanted to see her again, wanted to smell her... to _taste_.

He bet she was as sweet as she’d smelled.


	9. Change of Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new friendship begins? You can’t dodge invitations forever.

The next morning had been blissfully uneventful for you, especially after two consecutive nights of unsettling events. You spent most of it cleaning around your home to rid the cottage of any cobwebs or dust bundles and then gave each room a thorough mopping before you got down to baking.

Now you were pulling your ladyfingers out of the oven while boiling water on the stovetop for the tea, your normally freed long tresses tied back in a messy bun as you flitted around in your kitchen prepping everything.

Tea-pot, tea cups, tea.

Tea plates, ladyfingers, milk, sugar, honey... where you forgetting anything?

You planned to set up in the livingroom again, the couch was just oo comfortable to turn down and the spacious seating made for easy interaction. Especially with a new soul joining in on you and Papyrus’ habitual tea-party.

Stars you really hoped this wouldn’t be a mistake...

It wasn’t that you didn’t trust Papyrus’ decision to bring an extra skeleton along. No. It was more like you were absolutely terrified of encountering yet another alpha from the aggressive family.

So far you were three for four, seeing as your friend had been the only soul so far to not try to dust you with copious amounts of stress or fear-mongering. You didn’t know how many actually lived there.

  
Still emotionally reeling from the attack lastnight, you weren’t sure how your soul was coping with the stress. It just felt like it usually did...  
  


_Heavy_.

Was there ever a time that your scarred soul felt light? You can’t say you remember, it’s been so long...

•

•

•

Maybe you should have told Papyrus no about bringing Blue over.

Your kettle’s scream pulled you from your thoughts just as an enthusiastic knock played on your door. It had been brisk but familiar, the sound you distinctly paired with your energetic friend.  
  


”Coming!” You called out from the kitchen as you filled your polished lavender teapot with the boiling water and followed it with a chained strainer bean filled with the desired tea.Setting the lid back onto the teapot you would hurriedly carry it over to the setup in the livingroom before shuffling to your door.

One twist of the knob and you would peek through the crack of your pried open door to the awaiting skeletons outside.

Papyrus looking relieved and ever bright with his signature smile when his eyelights landed on you and then the skeleton you assumed to be Blue, currently vibrating next to your friend.

He was the same height as Sans from the looks of it and just as bulky in a soft grey teeshirt and denim pants with blue boots and bandana much like Papyrus’ scarf.  
But what really caught your attention, however, is how quickly the other skeleton’s eyelights turned to literal _stars_ at the shiest glimpse of you.

Oh.

Oh that’s _cute._   
  


You hesitantly opened the door the rest of the way, backing further into your living space while the two entered the home. Swiping your hands over your thighs against the spandex of your shorts while you observed the two with an obvious wariness, your skull dusted with the faintest hue of pink.

Maybe you should have changed after putting the ladyfingers in the oven. Your shorts felt too short now, your tank-top revealing. It made for good cleaning-wear but perhaps it wasn’t the best fit for company

  
Papyrus recognized your uneasiness in a soul-beat and your defensive posture was saddening, you had been much more welcoming before the ~~break-in~~ sneak-in accident with his brother and Stretch.

Hopefully things would return to normal after today

”GOOD AFTERNOON, DEAR NEIGHBOUR! IT’S GOOD TO SEE YOU ARE WELL!” Papyrus chirped, placing a hand onto Blue’s shoulder to keep the hyperactive skeleton at bay. “THIS IS MY COUSIN, BLUEBERRY! BUT EVERYONE AT HOME CA—“

”CALLS ME BLUE!” the male bleated eagerly, nearly bouncing in his spot while his starred eyelights shimmered as Blue suddenly broke from under Papyrus’ grip to race forward excitedly.

The skeleton’s arms outstretched in what could be assumed as initiating a hug but you find yourself being spooked. Flinching back from the speedy male’s presence while your eyelights suddenly flare, raising a barrier of bones from your floor between you and the bandanna’d alpha.

” _BLUE_!“ You hear Papyrus shout through the ringing in your skull, your blazing eyelights locked on the stumbling stranger in front of your wall of bones. As if he would break through them at any second and _‘lunge’_ at you again.

Your friend follows behind his cousin quickly after, his expression frantic. Wether for the safety of Blue or your sudden reaction.

’No wait!’ You want to voice but your mind is backfiring, that last tethers holding the shreds of your composure snapping from the quick approach yet of another alpha.

Your instincts kick into highgear all at once, screaming.

**_Danger_**.

Your eyelights dart between the two now while you back up another step. Your breaths are coming short and panicked while you summoned several bones in the air around you, poised to shoot.

Both skeletons quickly raise their gloved hands and go still as stone.

You can smell them, clementines and cinnamon then something else... blueberry pie?   
Their scents seeping past the wall of pink bones in an attempt to calm your panicked state.

You can’t, you’re stuck. Oh stars you were going to hurt your friend!

What is this?!

”HOLD ON __________! IT’S OKAY, YOU’RE OKAY... THE GREAT PAPYRUS NOR THE MAGNIFICENT BLUE IS TRYING TO HURT YOU!” Papyrus tries to placate you but you only twitch at his booming voice, a warning bone flying past his skull and embedding in the wall behind the skeleton, making him flinch.

”PAPPY WHAT’S HAPPENING? WHY IS YOUR FRIEND PREPARING TO ATTACK US?“ Blue asks worriedly, his watery eyelights never leaving you as pastel blue tears welled in his sockets.

”SOM— Something Must Have Happened... It’s As I Told You And The Others, Blue. She Is Of A Sensitive Sort...” the taller softens his tone.

Papyrus slowly, pointedly slides one glove and then the next off his hand and takes a step forward closer to the bone wall, catching your full attention as you grit your teeth and let out a warning growl.

Blue’s reaction is immediate, reaching for him to pull Pap back. ”PAPPY NO! SHE’LL SHOOT YOU!” Only to freeze mid-stretch at the other’s quick bark.  
  


“Don’t Move Blue!”

Papyrus’ serious expression softened once more when he looked back to you. Your pinpricked eyelights still blazing a bright fuchsia as trickles of rose brine are spilling down your cheekbones.

He offers you a big but strained smile, bared hands still raised. “It’s Okay _______... You’re Okay. It Is Just Me. It Is Only The Great Papyrus... You Know Me.”

‘Stay away! Stars please!‘ you scream in your mind, you can’t feel anything.  
Your a prisoner in your own bones.

The stress had triggered a sudden overpowering of instinct at a misinterpreted state of danger, out of the three responses your body could have chose...

  
Flee..

Freeze...

_**  
Fight** _

You don’t want to hurt him. You don’t want to hurt Papyrus.

Your soul weeps.

”The Great Papyrus Would _Never_ Hurt You, _________. Please. Put Your Bones Away...” Papyrus soothes, reaching his hand toward the barrier slowly much to Blue’s distress whine and your own mental panic.

The wall suddenly disintegrated before his hand could touch the damaging magic, your bones beginning to rattle as you lower your hands and the magic licking over your phalanges mists away.

”P-Pap... Pap...” you manage to choke out. Visibly quaking while the skeleton comes up to you and cups your skull with both hands, gloves still off, and swipes the rivulets of tears from your cheeks with his thumbs.

You’re drowned in citrus and spice, it feels so nice.

”M’sorry... I didn’t mean to... I thought I was okay... I didn’t mean to...” you mumble, eyelights fuzzy as they stare into the other’s gentle ones.

Papyrus only smiles and moves his hands from your skull to take hold of your own, leading you forward to where Blue was still standing still as a statue.

You can feel yourself tensing while watching the other visibly do the same as Papyrus, acting as a buffer, brings you near his cousin

”_______, This Is Blue. Like I, The Great Papyrus, He Will Not Hurt You. I Promise.” Papyrus murmurs gently, giving a gentle nod of his skull that seemed to encourage the Blue to relax slightly and give you a beaming grin.

Though you do notice the dotting of sweat on the side of Blue’s skull.

Guilt spears you. You really messed up, didn’t you?

”H..Hello...” you meekly whisper, adverting your eyelights with your shame. “I’m sor—“

”THE MAGNIFICENT BLUE APOLOGIZES FOR STARTLING YOU, PAPPY’S FRIEND! I DO NOT HAVE MUCH EXPERIENCE WITH OMEGA MONSTERS AND HAD FORGOTTEN THAT YOU’VE BEEN UNDER SOME STRESS FROM EVENTS THAT HAD TRANSPIRED THE OTHER NIGHT!” Blue spills before you can apologize yourself, the surprise from the shorter skeleton’s words making your eyelights void out while he continues.

”I ALSO WANTED THE OPPORTUNITY TO PERSONALLY APOLOGIZE FOR MY BROTHER’S PART IN CAUSING YOU SUCH STRESS. STRETCH IS NOT USUALLY ONE TO... COMMIT SUCH AN ACT. I HOPE YOU CAN SOMEDAY FORGIVE HIM FOR BRINGING YOU DISTRESS.” his boisterous attitude softens as he draws near to finishing his statement, smile gentler as he looked between a patient Papyrus and a shell-shocked you before he swept into a bow.

”O-oh stars! Please... Please don’t b-bow! It’s okay.. I’m okay! Ah..” you sputter out finally, hands slipping from Papyrus’ to wave about frantically, causing both alphas to laugh. A chorus of _“NYEHEHEHE”_ s and _“MWEHEHEHE”_ s filling your home.

”ALRIGHT! SHALL WE ALL FINALLY HAVE SOME TEA? PAPPY SAID YOU ALSO BAKED LADYFINGERS TO PAIR WITH IT!” Blue queried while Papyrus put his gloves back on, the taller of the two seemingly satisfied that the situation was resolved.  
  


“The tea is probably over-steeped...” You murmur only for a gloved hand to land on and squeeze your shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze,

”NONSENSE! THE GREAT PAPYRUS ALWAYS ENJOYS YOUR TEA, DEAR NEIGHBOUR! COME NOW!” Papyrus crowed, steering you and Blue off to the set up in the livingroom.

It had taken some time, cups had been refilled twice before you were finally relaxed between the two alphas. Their energetic moods and sweet personalities smoothed over your frayed nerves and gave you a sense of newfound security.   
  


Blue was quick to ask if there could be times he could visit to learn new recipes after having heard such wonderful things about you and Pappy’s cooking sessions, something that Papyrus quickly chimed in for joining if that would be the case.   
  


You missed the look Blue shot the other when you took a sip of your tea, your soul warm with the healing properties that came with such a gentle brew.

You mention that your kitchen isn’t quite spacious enough for the two and yourself to be bustling about to cook,

”THEN COME TO THE MANSION! SURELY WITH I AND BLUE AT YOUR SIDE YOU WOULD WISH TO FINALLY VISIT. YES?” Papyrus offered again.

And you really couldn’t find an excuse that would be valid to excuse yourself from the very idea.

  
He was right after all, you didn’t doubt that the two knightly skeletons would protect you while in the larger home.

Wait...

”H-How did you...?” Your eyelights snap to Papyrus with mortified alarm when it clicked that your tall friend had known you were scared to go to his house.

his answering smile was sincere and tender, “DEAR NEIGHBOUR, YOU’RE FAR EASIER TO READ THAN YOU MAY REALIZE.. HOWEVER IF YOU STILL FEEL YOU CANNOT, THEN WE CERTAINLY WON’T FORCE YOU...”

The face he made was like turning away a starved puppy, you feel your soul quiver when Blue‘s face contorted to match Papyrus’ sorrowful expression. The other’s eyelights were large and glimmered like a begging kitten’s.

They didn’t look sad but disappointed... Oh stars were those _tears_?

Dammit.

”oh.. well.. m..maybe one visit wouldn’t hurt.. test the waters...” you relent softly, eyelights lowering to your teacup while pink dusted you speckled cheekbones.

“WONDERFUL! THEN WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR VISIT TOMORROW!” Papyrus perked up suddenly, plucking another ladyfinger from the tray while Blue chimed in

”INDEED! IT WILL BE THE MAGNIFICENT SANS’ NIGHT TO PREPARE DINNER! YOU CAN EVEN STAY FOR THE MEAL!”

Your focus flits from one skeleton to the other with a overly stunned look.

  
They did that on purpose...

So Papyrus just... Baited you?

Perhaps your friend wasn’t as innocently sweet as you initially thought, Blue even more so!

Even though the shorter had that same child-like excitement about him that Papyrus would express often when the two of you would spend time together.

With an almost dramatic surrendering sigh, slumping back onto the couch which caused them to glance at you while you mumbled accusingly. “Sneaky skeletons...” To which they giggled.

”DEAR NEIGHBOUR, YOU HAD MENTIONED IN YOUR MESSAGE LASTNIGHT THAT YOU WISHED TO DISCUSS THE GREAT PAPYRUS’ FAMILY?” the skeleton queried, tilting his skull while Blue took a hearty sip of tea, knees bouncing with obvious repressed energy.

The reminder brought you to pause, recalling your alarming encounter with another skeleton member of the neighbouring mansion made your soul stutter.

”Y...Yes... I was hoping that you could maybe... tell them to leave me alone?” You muse softly, noting the confusion that crossed Papyrus’ face, encouraging you to elaborate.

”Yesterday I went to reconcile with Oscar and—“

”YOU DID? THAT’S WONDERFUL DEAR NEIGHBOUR! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS SO PROUD OF YOU FOR MAKING SUCH A BIG DECISION! I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!” he crowed excitedly, beaming at you like the precious starlight he was.  
  


”Y-yes, thank you.. but.. when I was w-walking home that evening I was...uh... followed?”

A clink of glass against glass broke the brief pause of silence that had filled the livingroom as Blue set down his cup, a look of concern crossing his skull while Papyrus’ smile faltered off.

”FOLLOWED, DEAR NEIGHBOUR?”

“Yea... I thought maybe it was Stretch... but...” your brow bones furrow as you realize you’re filtering the experience heavily, not wanting to worry your friend and newer companion.

Shaking your head you try again.

”They pulled me into an alley.. saying something about a lord wanting to see me? I tried to get away.. and they.. we... bones...” your words falter near the end, eyelights fuzzing and soul beginning to sputter as flashes of the chase flit in your mind’s eye.

Papyrus and Blue shared a look, the shorter male fidgeting at the wordless question the other’s eyes seemed to portray, 

“I HAD HEARD BLACK WAS ASKING MUTT TO LOOK INTO SOMETHING YESTERDAY MORNING... I WOULD HAVE NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD BE YOUR FRIEND, PAPPY” 

The taller would fret and fidget as well,

“OH DEAR... THAT JUST WON’T DO!” Papyrus clapped his hands, looking back to you with a new resolve in those sockets of his.  
“_________! THE GREAT PAPYRUS SUGGESTS YOU INVEST IN SOME SECURITY FOR YOUR HOME! AS IT WOULD SEEM THAT YOU HAVE ATTRACTED THE ATTENTION OF MY AFOREMENTIONED COUSINS BLACK AND MUTT! I WILL HELP YOU WITH THIS ENDEAVOUR!”

”AS WILL I! MWEH HEH HEH! THE MAGNIFICENT BLUE WOULD LIKE TO PROVE MYSELF AS A CONTENDING FRIEND THAT I TOO, WILL HELP TO KEEP YOU SAFE AS A FRIEND SHOULD!” Blue jumped to his feet, hands on his hip and bandanna fluttering in a nonexistent breeze.

You look from one beaming skeleton to the other, both seemed so eager to help. It put your soul at ease, warmth bleeding over you as you gave a small smile.   
  


“Thanks guys... that would be great. What do you suggest, Papyrus?”

He brought a finger to rub his chin while tapping his boot against the floor, Blue nearly matched the pensive pose before the blue-clad male crossed his arms instead and furrowed his brow-bones.

Was there even a way to defend your home against skeleton monsters? You’d certainly never heard of anything.

”AHA!” Papyrus shouts, causing both you and Blue to jump. “I RECALL DOCTOR ALPHYS TALKING TO THE QUEEN ABOUT A NEW HOME DEFENCE SYSTEM FOR THE HOUSE IN ORDER TO PROTECT FRISK!”  
  


You were intrigued, eyelights growing at the mention of the royal scientist.

Meanwhile Papyrus had quickly taken out his phone to call the monster while you rose to tidy up, stacking cups and plates onto the large tray only for Blue to take it from your hands with a blearingly bright smile.  
  


”ALLOW THE MAGNIFICENT BLUE TO TAKE THAT, _______!” He chirped, following you to the kitchen while the taller alpha was having a rather animated conversation, wild gestures and intervals of _“nyeh-heh’s“_ between pauses.

  
”thank you, Blue... I’m sorry I tried to skewer you before...“ you murmur while sorting the used dishes into the dishwasher, eyelights focused on the task while Blue observed you with that same unfaltering curiosity that Papyrus has shown since the first day you’d met him.  
  


“THINK NOTHING OF IT! I REALIZE I GOT A BIT AHEAD OF MYSELF JUST RUNNING AT YOU LIKE I DID... IT’S A BIT OF A BAD HABIT. YOU JUST LOOKED SO CUTE AND SMALL THAT I WANTED TO HUG YOU!” he admitted, cupping his chin with a look of bemusement.

You feel your skull burn with a tell-tale pink hue at Blue’s words and would close the dishwasher, dusting off your hands just as Papyrus appeared behind the kitchen island, 

“ALPHYS SHOULD BE HERE WITH EVERYTHING TOMORROW, DEAR NEIGHBOUR! THE GREAT PAPYRUS TOOK THE LIBERTY OF ASKING FOR A FEW OTHER THINGS TO FURTHER SECURE YOUR HOME WHILE I WAS AT IT!”

His smile was contagious and you would quickly return it as you mused “That’s great Pappy, you really didn’t have to—“

”TOMORROW? BUT THEN WHAT WILL THE MAIDEN DO FOR HER SAFETY TONIGHT?” Blue interrupted, looking at Papyrus challengingly as he added. “YOU KNOW AS WELL AS I THAT BLACK AND MUTT ARE PERSISTENT, SHE WOULD BE A SITTING DUCK!”

”uh... guys..?”

”THEN WHAT DO _YOU_ SUGGEST, BLUE?” You miss the way Papyrus’ sockets narrow at the other, the two having a discreet standoff as tension began to crackle between the two buzzing alphas.

Blue must have been waiting for him to say that because the skeleton would give an almost cocky grin and puff up his chest as he brought a gloved finger up to the side of his teeth.

”WHY A SLEEPOVER OF COURSE!”

_A **What**?_


	10. Royal Intervention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You can’t keep secrets from a mother, intuition is too strong. That and a certain doctor is a snitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taking a small break from posting chapters after this one, daily posting takes its toll, heh. Shouldn’t be too long though, i’ll be back posting before ya guys know it!

You think you’re in a weird lucid dream.

You definitely couldn’t be in the situation you’re in right now, not really.

_Right_?  
  


“WHAT SHOULD WE WATCH TONIGHT, DEAR NEIGHBOUR?” Papyrus queried, drawing you out of your catatonic state and halting your fork mid-prod to your dinner.

It had been a bit of a squeeze, lots of bumping into one-another and gentle laughter when someone would get messy but you, Blue and Papyrus had managed to make a presentable meal that evening after the two had sent their respective brothers a text to signify they’d be staying at your home for the night.

That’s right.

You were going to have two _alpha_ monsters, _**skeleton monsters** , _stay in your home over night.

They were determined to see to your safety until the rise of the sun tomorrow when Alphys, yet a monster you hadn’t seen in five years, would be arriving at your home with some sort of security system.

Papyrus had mentioned while dicing the vegetables for the chicken stirfry the three of you had agreed upon that she’d also have some advanced locks for your windows and doors.

You make a mental note to pull the doctor aside and ask her the prices of everything so you could properly compensate the monster for the trouble.

”I THINK WE SHOULD WATCH SOMETHING CHEERFUL TO PUT THE MAIDEN IN HIGHER SPIRITS!” Blue chimed in from your right, making your skull duck guiltily.

Of course they’d picked up on your uneasiness, you were probably reeking up your house with your anxious scent. Your cheekbones dust rose as you apologize softly to the two.

”NOW, NOW, _______! YOU NEEDN’T APOLOGIZE FOR YOUR BODY’S NATURAL REACTIONS. WE ARE PERFECTLY FINE, ONLY CONCERNED FOR YOUR WELL BEING. WAS THE CHICKEN OVERCOOKED, PERHAPS?” Blue’s eyelights vanish for a moment at Pap’s jibing question, as if the shorter skeleton would be the one at fault for your discomfort. Being the one who had been tasked to tend to the protein of the dish.

It, however, goes over your head.

Blinking owlishly at them you feel your mouth pop open in stunned silence. He thought it was the food? Mentally facepalming you give a shake of your head.   
  


“Of course not Pappy, it’s cooked to perfection. You and Blue both made this dish wonderfully.” You praise the alphas, making them swell with pride and an answering _“Nyeheh”_ and _”Mweheh”_ escaped either. Tension dissipated from the dinner table.

You can’t help smiling sadly as you look down to your dish, half-empty from your mindless dining. “I’m sorry... I just feel like this is unnecessary, you know? I don’t want to keep you two from your own beds. It would be hard for you two to sleep in such an unfamiliar space, wouldn’t it?”

”NOT AT ALL!” Blue began before Papyrus chimed in.

“THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS DELIGHTED TO BE HELPING YOU, DEAR NEIGHBOUR! I HAD WANTED TO ASK YOU TO HAVE A SLEEPOVER BEFORE BUT I KNOW YOU STILL STRUGGLE WITH COMPANY AND DID NOT WISH TO OVERWHELM YOU”

You can feel your soul swell in your ribs, more of that lovely warmth fluttering over your very being like ripples in a pond.

Papyrus was such a thoughtful soul. Both skeletons were being so nice.

With that reassurance you eagerly dig back into your meal, missing the way Papyrus and Blue’s smile softened to affection at the sight of you eating something they’d made so enthusiastically.

Dishes were done with ease, both alphas insisting they see to it before you were standing at the door with them, readying to leave to fetch extra clothes and toiletries.

”NEVER FEAR, ________! THE MAGNIFICENT BLUE WILL BE BACK BEFORE YOU KNOW IT!”

”WE WILL ONLY BE A FEW MINUTES, DEAR ______! PERHAPS YOU CAN PREPARE THE LIVINGROOM FOR THE MOVIE?” Papyrus suggested, bringing a gloved hand to rest atop your head.   
  


“Y-ya! I’ll make the best marathon nest you’ll ever see!” You boast, feeling a sudden childish glee to be able to show off your nest-making skills.  
  


Hadn’t you been reluctant to have the two skeletons stay over? Where had that gone?

  
_Right out the window_ after they both gave you a parting hug, Blue eager to follow Pap’s lead after the taller pulled you into his arms for a gentle squeeze.   
  


Still you’re getting used to hugs from him but you suppose since now you’ll be getting them from Blue as well you can just toss your apprehension towards the act of affection to the wind.

Their hugs were so _warm_.

After the boys had left you got to work with setting up the livingroom, pushing the footrest into the center to change the U shaped piece of furniture into a sizable bed-space. This would definitely fit the two skeletons, so they would at least have a comfortable place to sleep after the movies.

You dig around your house for extra blankets and pillows that weren’t already being used for your own nest and began fluffing and adjusting each piece for optimal use both for the movie and the males’ rest.

You had almost been done when a knock sounded off, drawing your attention away from your work. It was brisk, but not frantic. Papyrus? It was a little off key but...

A glance at the clock above your television and you find yourself impressed, that had been rather quick. Walking to your door you would swing it open to greet the skeleton boys to be faced with someone completely different, your eyelights void in your sockets as shock overtook your features.

” _T-Toriel_?!” You squeaked in the face of the queen, her expression flickered from startled to stern and almost scolding as she stared you down in her lavender fur-trimmed coat.

“Wha.. what are you doing here at this time of day?”

The goatmom stepped into your home, encouraging you to take an anxious step back while fidgeting with your fingers. 

“I had heard... that you were having some trouble with skeletons, child... however, I cannot say I expected _you_ to be one.” Tori mused, arms crossing while you guiltily drop your gaze to the floor at her feet.

”I... I was going to tell you... honest...” it was a pitiful attempt of an excuse but truthful, you _were_ going to tell her. Or rather show her at the annual gyftmas celebration the woman held next week.

It had been Papyrus’ idea, when you had mentioned wanting to finally come out and meet the royal monster who’d gifted you a home and sense of belonging.

There goes that plan.

”it doesn’t matter, child.. You know I have always been patient for you to come about doing things in your own time. You’re still you, no matter what you look like” the woman began, that sharpness in her eyes softening on you. “However....”

Oh shit.

”What I am absolutely infuriated about... is how you could neglect telling me that you were approached... _attacked_ on your way home lastnight.” Tori snapped, glare sharp once more as you cower like a proper omega.

Who knew a beta could be so intimidating.

You feel your sins crawling on your back.

”You have consistently been invasive of any details involving your safety for the past several weeks, _______ and quite frankly it must to come to an end. First it was those vandalizing acts on your home and your person...”

”VANDALIZING?” Papyrus’ voice rung out from behind the queen standing at your ajar door, the sound spooking the queen from her scolding to glance over her shoulder at the two skeletons frozen at your porch, each carrying a napsack.

”Papyrus? S—Blue? What are you two doing here at this hour?” Toriel queried, bouncing her questioning gaze between you and the boys outside.

”YOUR MAJESTY! WE ARE HERE FOR A SLEEPOVER TO PROTECT _______ UNTIL ALPHYS ARRIVES WITH THE LOCKS AND SECURITY SYSTEM THAT PAPY REQUESTED!” Blue chirped, seemingly concerned and confused to be seeing the royal standing in your home as Payrus was.

”Sleepover... you two?” Toriel’s eyes narrowed, clearly going into mom-mode and making the skeleton male’s stiffen while a speckle of sweat dots their skulls.

”Y-YES! AH, BUT WHAT IS THIS ABOUT VANDALISM ON D-DEAR NEIGHBOUR’S HOME?” the taller enquired rather nervously, fidgeting where he stood.

You felt his pain. Toriel could be a scary monster.

”______ had told me of some incidents of harassment some weeks ago, it had been waring on her..” Toriel explained before listing off the things that you had been enduring before Papyrus’ arrival in your life, your soul felt strained as you watched the shift in your friend’s demeanour.

”BUT... But I Thought It Had Only Been The Sneak-in Incident...” Papyrus’ voice softened, his gaze shooting to you, making you bow your head quickly.

”Sneak-in? ________ did somebody break into your home?!” Toriel snapped back to you, making your shoulders hitch at the sharpness in her tone.   
  


Oh god damnit.   
  


“Well.. yes.. but I—“

”IT WAS ONLY SANS AND STRETCH, YOUR MAJESTY! BUT IT IS FINE, HE WAS JUST—“

” ** _Sans?!_** You mean to tell me that Sans has broken into your home? Was he the one harassing you? Was _he_ the skeleton to attack you lastnight as well?!” The goat monster was going into a rage, her voice bordering on hysteric as her normally warm hazel eyes began blazing with an unseen fire.

” _NO_! I... I mean... he wasn’t the one who attacked me...” you can hear the startled _“NYEH?”_ come from Papyrus and cringe into yourself.

This was a mess.

”Look I’ve been.. h-handling it, Tori.. really.. Papy and.. and now Blue are helping me...” stars you wish you didn't sound so meek, still her glare didn’t falter.

“_____ there is no _handling_ it, you are an _omega_ of an endangered species of monster. Do you have no self-preservation? What would your parents think of your choices so far? From now on you _will_ tell me when things like these happen. Wether from Sans or any other monster so they may be dealt with accordingly.“ Toriel began, tucking her hands away into the sleeves of her coat.

”T-Tori _!_ You don’t need to do this, I am not a child!” You clutch a hand to your soul, which felt like it was being twisted in a juicer from the anxiousness that suddenly washed over you.   
  


Your parents...

”Sans and _Stretch_ will be given a citation for their misdeeds that will go towards the MFP’s threat 3 point system, should you decide to spend time with them is your own choice and I cannot stop you, child, but...” she ignored your words and reeled around to look at Papyrus and Blue, both visibly distressed as they looked between her and to you, currently shaking like a leaf.  
  


This was all your fault...

”Your _family_ will be notified tomorrow that if any of them attempt to harass ________ further for any malicious or devious reason, you _all_ will be relocated, the offending skeletons blacklisted and your family given a permanent restraining order _.”_

”YOUR MAJESTY!”

”NO!”   
  


Both skeletal brothers voice, the royal monster stepping out your front door and approaching them before they separated to allow Toriel to descend the steps only pausing once more to state in a solemn voice.   
  


“You have been warned.”

They watched in suspended silence before a thud sounded from behind the two.

Papyrus and Blue turn back to your home to see you on your knees, both hands entangled in pastel locks, clutching your while fat rose tears pearled down your flushed cheekbones. You were mortified. “I’m sorry...”  
  


Hiccupping you repeat the words over and over as your vision of the alphas tunnels, even as they rush forward to enter our home and close the door behind themselves to tend to you on the floor.

Your apologies keep spilling even while Blue shooshes you and Papyrus’ arms encircle the both of you.

  
Why were you crying?

This whole mess was your fault...

Maybe if you’d been more honest with Toriel, or told Papyrus what happened beforehand

You just didn’t want to trouble your friend. Your first new friend, a friend who was patient and had taken the time to help and encourage you to come out of your self-isolation.

Now his family could be forced to move... because you were a pitiful excuse of an omega.

You don’t recognize that you aren’t truly at fault. If the skeletons had just left you alone, or even been _neighbours_ and greeted you accordingly, would the result be any different?

Would you be here now, with Papyrus and Blue? Would you have reconciled with Oscar?

At some point you three had finally made it to the couch, their attempts at praising your work for the comfortable looking nest fell of deaf ears at the time.

You were curled up between the two skeletons watching a movie, the two having already changed into their pajamas.

You wish you could have taken the time to admire how adorable they were, dressed in orange and cyan stripes with matching nightcaps atop their skulls.

You had taken to snatching Papyrus’ Cool Dude shirt and changed after the boys had gone into your bathroom. Seems they had no qualms about sharing.

Your friend’s face had been a rather bright shade of orange upon your own return, you don’t recognize the flush while crawling across the sea of blankets and pillows to reclaim your seat on the couch-bed curled into yourself like a ball with the large top swallowing your huggged knees.  
  


You never realized how big Papyrus’ ribs were, if it werent for your own plump bust the neckline of the tall skeleton’s shirt would have hung dangerously low on your person.  
  


Blue actually laughed. “MWEHEHEH! SHE’S SO SMALL, YOUR SHIRT IS LIKE A DRESS ON HER PAPPY!”

With the house dark and the blue glow of your television bathing over the three of you, you could almost pretend Toriel didn’t visit, didn’t just threaten your friends.

Something that could have been avoided if you weren’t such a coward.

The mingled scents of fresh blueberries and clementines was nice... you don’ know if it was intentional or not but you feel your eyelights fuzzing as a wave of drowsiness washes over yourself.

The movie is still playing, what were you watching now?

The first had been Finding Nemo, the second Bambi... Was it Hercules? A Disney marathon had been Blue’s idea.

Eyesockets slowly close, your train of thought wavering as you slip under with the soothing aroma of fruit and warmth of two souls enveloping your own.


	11. Not a Chapter.

Hello everyome! I’M sorry that I’ve been away from the quill and ink for so long! The next chapter to I See You _WILL_ be posted on Saturday, June 27th! My brain is just being pulled in different directions right now but I promise it is in the works! 

Hope you all are having a great summer and I’ll be seeing you soon! 


	12. A Change of Pace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edge brings order to the skele-household. Is there someone in the woods?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I overslept ówò’ Covid bedtimes are unhealthy bedtimes.

**THIRD PERSON POV**

**The skeleton mansion.  
  
**

” **WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!?** ” A near animalistic, shrill, and bone-quaking roar rumbled through the home.

The owner of this voice?

Stood with a leather-clad hand on his hip, blackguard uniform still worn with the golden badge clipped to the right breast of his button-up top. Fuming.

In his other hand?

A piece of freshly folded paper with the royal seal clinging to the sheet that was being clasped in a death grip of the raging skeleton.

His audience was the remaining brothers of the home, save the horror brothers and the two more enthusiastic souls who had spent the night elsewhere.

Each looked bedraggled from being forced out of bed at four in the morning.

” **I RECEIVE THIS LETTER AS I’M LEAVING MY POST BY _YOUR_ QUEEN**” Edge began with an accusing finger pointed at Sans, his perma-grin worn and sockets shadowed with obvious lack of sleep.

“ **TELLING ME THAT WE MAY BE EVICTED FROM OUR RESIDENCE IF ANY OF US VIOLENTLY ENGAGE THAT DISGUSTING HUMAN THAT YOUR BROTHER BEFRIENDED?! THAT _TWO OF YOU_ HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED A POINT ON THE MFP’S THREE MARK EVASION** **SYSTEM?!** ”

Stretch and Classic both flinch at that, Mutt subtly adverting his gaze as he stood hunched tiredly by Black’s side, who was pinching the bridge between his closed sockets while his other hand was clenched on the armrest of the chair he had chosen to sit in. 

Red was barely conscious on the love-seat behind the fuming angular skeleton who was nearly foaming at the fangs at this unforeseen development.   
  


“s’not a human, boss. she’s a monsta.. and s’them boneheads’ fault for messin’ with ‘er.” He’d wished he hadn’t spent most of the night at Grillby’s before this, but how could Red know their neighbor would finally report to the queen about Vanilla and Stretch’s fuck-up?

The slowly sobering skeleton suspected that the fellswap brothers may have pushed the situation as well, having recalled yesterday morning, when scuffling down the stairs for a fresh bottle of mustard, how the two seemed to be having a muffled conversation about a bird? No a cat.

Something like that...  
  


“ **I DON’T CARE IF SHE’S A BLOODY GOLDEN MOLDSMAL! WHAT I DO CARE FOR IS THE FACT THAT THIS!** ” Edge throttled the letter as if it had insulted his mother.

“ **WILL BE ON OUR RECORDS! _MY RECORD!_ THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE EDGE WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS! YOU WILL NOT TARNISH MY REPUTATION WHEN I HAVE JUST RISEN TO THE ROLE OF CAPTAIN TO THE MONSTRELL FEDERAL POLICEFORCE YOU KNUCKLE-DRAGGING NINCOMPOOPS!**”

There was an answering growl from Mutt and Black at the other’s insult while Stretch sunk into his seat further. “We get it Edge... Yer mad, it was a misunderstanding and won’t happen again...”

” **YOU BET YOUR BONES IT WON’T HAPPEN AGAIN, I DON’T WANT THAT CREATURE ANYWHERE NEAR HERE!** ” the seething alpha commanded, stamping on the rugged floor repeatedly. 

”she coming over to make dinner today...” Sans chimed in tiredly, flinching when all eyelights in the room snapped to him. “p-paps texted me about it... said somethin about her kitchen not bein’ big enough...”

Mutt couldn’t keep the grin from curling on his face while a collective of varied growls rumbled through the living-space

Red scoffed as he pushed off the loveseat to make his way to the stairs grumpily, having had enough of the morning’s events. “that chick is outta’ er mind” 

Earning an agreeing rumble from Classic and Stretch from behind while Edge recovered from his sudden silence. Turning pensive, browbones furrowing with a finger poised under his chin as soft mutters rumbled from the once agitated male.

Assuming the meeting was over, the rest of the skeleton brothers would begin to filter out of the living-room to the stairs in order to return to their rooms.  
  


“ **IT’S PERFECT**.”

Souls freeze as a collection of skulls snap toward the uniformed male, his grin menacing, _calculating_.

“ **IF SHE COMES TO OUR HOME THEN I, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE EDGE CAN CONVINCE THIS MONSTER TO WITHDRAW HER PROTECTIVE ORDER!”**

Edge looked as if he’d broken the code of some law-defying puzzle. His shit-eating grin was worrying.

“ **I SHALL BE KEEPING AN EYESOCKET ON ALL OF YOU FOOLS THIS EVENING TO ENSURE HER VISIT IS SATISFACTORY! IF _ANY_ OF YOUR POOR EXCUSES FOR SKELETONS ACT OUT OF LINE THEN I WILL _PERSONALLY_** **SEE TO YOUR PUNISHMENT”** He concluded with a threatening growl, a deathly aura surrounding the angular alpha.

Black looked as if he were repressing his own irritation as his teeth curled into a faltering smile, forced with sincerity that made his hovering brother shudder. “ **Fair Enough, Edge. Then You Have My And My Brother’s Word To Be On Our Best Behaviour. Mutt.”**

The shorter would give a beckoning wave as he brushed past a stone-still Red, Mutt would give a reluctant nod toward Edge before following after Black, rumbling something to the shorter about his displeasure in the agreement. A curt snarl silenced the taller.

“b-boss ya should probably know tha—“

” **NOT NOW RED! THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE EDGE NEEDS TO GET HIS BEAUTY-SLEEP BEFORE THOSE TWO IMPOSTERS BRING OUR GUEST TO THE MANSION. DON’T THINK I WILL BE LENIENT WITH YOU EITHER, BROTHER. YOU WILL BEHAVE.** ” Edge brushed him off with the command as he too strode past the now sweating skeleton and up the stairs, leaving the shorter to growl in frustration his phalanges raking down his skull before Red shot a glare to Sans and Stretch still sitting in the living-room.   
  


“dis is yer fault! we wouldn’t even have to put up with that skeleton dame if ya had just minded yer damn business and keep yer noses outta it, like ya told us to do when we firs’ showed up here!” he sneered while pointing at Sans, the blue hooded male raising his hands in a tired gesture of surrender.   
  


“but red, you _nose_ we don’t have those...”Sans grinned while Stretch gave a stifled snort, earning a spearing glare from the fanged male in return.

”what’re you laughing about, hah, carrotstick? think this is funny? gunna be mister fuckin’ funny guy? well fuck _both_ of ye idiots. this whole mess shouldn’t even exist! if you hadn’t destroyed the machine, me and my bro could be back home! but _nooooo_ , ye got scared when those two fuckin’ freaks came through and pulled the plug! didn’ care how we would feel though, did ya vanilla?” Red seethed, mind flitting to the larger pair of skeletons that resided in the woods.

The aforementioned two, thankfully, didn’t reside under the same roof as him. Even Red got heebie-jeebies from those brothers.

Raking his phalanges over his skull again, the underfell brother was at his limit, spouting off, “fuck ye, fuck yer world, fuck yer queen, and fuck that shitty omega neighbor!” before blipping off to his room with the hateful reek of his agitated scent, leaving Sans and Stretch behind in the livingroom.

”So when are ya gunna tell ‘em?” The taller queried as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his hoody pocket, tapping the box against his palm before drawing a single stick from the fresh dozen.   
  


Classic tensed, rubbing over his nape with an exhausted sigh while sliding down the chair he was nearly falling out of it. “tell them what? the neighbor is our soulmate and... by default, their soulmate? or that we—” he wavered when Stretch shot him a glare, mid-light of his smoke

“—that _i_ may have screwed all of us over for a soulbond with the skelebabe next door?” Sans amended, eyelights rolling heavenward.

He really did fuck up this time...   
  


“Think yer bro knows?” The question was offered instead, the orange-clad skeleton taking a hearty drag from the tar-stick between his teeth. He didn’t wanna reveal that their fated could want nothing to do with any of them, save his and Sans’ brother.

”no.. paps is too naive to know she’s his soulmate when he sees ‘er.. probably just thinks his soul desperately wants to befriend her.” the shorter rumbled, his form having migrated onto the floor by this point while Stretch gave a soft snort and nodded,

”S’probably the same with Blue... course, the others might not recognize... their worlds aren’t exactly attuned to the aspect of fated pairs... or soulbond groups... we don’ entirely know either, never heard of a fated-link _this_ big, maybe three partners but never _this_...” the alpha made a face, what a mess this was turning out to be.

“But ya gunna have to tell em before they try to tear ‘er limb from limb fighting for her...”  
  


Sans slowly nodded, shifting to push himself up off the floor slowly with a creak of his tired bones, groaning under his breath,

”D’ya think _she_ knows?” Stretch asked next, eyelights adverted out the livingroom’s glass-planed wall and sliding door toward the forest. Creampuff was gunna have his coccyx when he found out the other was smoking in the house again.

there was a long pause of silence before the other grunted, shrugging his shoulders slightly “considering how it took us a bit to think on it and figure it out? Probably not... she probably pushed our encounter that night to the back of her skull... the link is still pretty weak.” Sans mused, thinking to the dainty pink thread he’d found barely clinging to his soul, frayed from stress..

from _distrust_.   
  


he fucked up so fucking bad.

**The Cabin.**

  
”PAPY...?” Blue attempted to whisper to the male across from him, the small snoozing barrier of their host between them. There was a sound of the sheets shuffling on the taller’s side of the couch-bed-nest before he was answered.

”Mnnh, Yes, Blue..?” Papyrus’ voice was a touch softer than the other’s, mostly due to sleepiness.

The sun was just beginning to bleed into the living room from the skylight window above.

  
  
Lastnight's sleepover hadn’t gone how the two had hope when they returned from fetching the necessities. Papyrus certainly hadn’t expected his new friend to be involved with the queen, although from what little the rosette had told him about her circumstances of living on the surface while he was in the underground perhaps he _should_ have expected it.

His friend... the drowsy male gave the lump of covers between him and Blue with creased browbones. She’d been so distressed last night, the stink of burnt sugar was like battery acid to his senses, urging the male to surge forward to protect her.

It had taken everything in the taller skeleton not to rush to the omega’s aid when the queen had been scolding her, which was odd. Not that he wanted to aid a friend but the sheer intensity of the need to soothe and protect his friend, even though he knew the royal beta had no intention of truly hurting the pink-toned skeleton.

Papyrus was unused to such ferocity in his own instincts, it confused him greatly. 

"THE MAIDEN IS TROUBLED... BY MORE THAN THE INFLUENCE OF OUR BROTHERS... ISN'T SHE..." Blue's observation cut off the other's train of thought, making Papyrus blink back at the male who was also gazing upon the sleeping soul of the trio.

However, before he could answer there was a resounding knock that snapped both's attention toward the front door, _________ jolted and sat up quickly with a sleepy squeak that made Blue and Pap giggle.

"J-Just a minute! I'm, I'm comi--eek!!" her frantic wiggles to crawl off out of the nest had the smaller's ankle snared by one of the many blankets, sending her tumbling to the floor.

The two alpha skeletons jolted and scrambled to aid the other only to jump back when she bounced to her knees and then her feet to sprint to the door, shaky hands unlocking and swinging open the door and in turn startle the waiting omega on the other side.

Alphys squeaked, her scent tapering on its normal lemonsquare aroma and the tapering sourness of brine as she fumbled with an armful of a tower of small unidentifiable boxes. "Shit! Sorry, sorry!" __________ apologized and rushed to catch three that fell from the top, earning a nervous sputter from the other female while Papyrus and Blue gave an almost indignant gasp in sync.

" _LANGUAGE_ , DEAR NEIGHBOUR!", “MAIDEN! WATCH YOUR TONGUE!”

”O-o-oh dear, s-s-sorry! I d-d-didn’t expect y-y-you to open the d-d-door so s-s-suddenly, _________, I h-hope I’m not t-t-too early... it’s a-almost t-t-the afternoon...” the monster mumbled worryingly, fingers drumming against the cardboard of the boxes closest to her hands.

After reassurance from the homeowner she was led inside blindly, the stout monster eagerly handing off the boxes to Papyrus with a shaky word of thanks, her hands smoothing over a lab-coat that she seemed to always wear.

“T-there are a f-f-few magic sensors, magic-proof door and window-locks a-a-and a anti-magic f-field.. it’s s-s-still got a few bugs b-but if you h-have any trouble w-w-with it I can just... just... _-_-_________?” Her owlish stare was pointed after it landed upon the skeleton in question, who was fidgeting with one of the window-locks that Blue had taken out of a nearby box.

Glancing up at her name, the skeleton froze, seemingly forgetting how her appearance had been a mystery for the scientist five years ago. Her eyelights darted to the side as she smiled waveringly.   
  


“Y-yes... long time n-no see Alphys... y-you look well...”

”s-s-s-skeleton! You’re a s-skeleton! That’s w-w-why your magic signature was s-so strong back at the c-c-camp! Then again I d-d-don’t think even Papyrus or Sans’ magic were q-quite so palpable... encompassing your a-arms! I h-h-had assumed you originated from a elemental stasis, maybe... but then I couldn’t—“ the omega droned on as she scuffled toward the other, circling the pink-toned female with fascination.

Yellow hands claimed boned as Alphys looked up to _________ with a glitter in her lensed eyes “May I give y-you a quick checkup?”

”what? U-uh... o-okay...?”

**FIRST PERSON POV**

The spectacle of the reptilian monster going over basic magic tests and a brisk physical had gone without interruption in your bedroom while the boys were installing the security system, sensors, locks and the anti-magic field through your home.

Alphys’d poked, prodded and eyeballed whatever she could think of with what little tools she had. Often fretting to herself how she should have brought this and that, you really couldn’t make sense of anything she was muttering on about.

It had been during this invasion of personal space that you caught her murmuring, “suddenly Toriel’s concern makes so much more sense...” which only sent a flash of irritation prickling across your bones. Then it had been the scientist who tipped off the queen, the reason there was now an ultimatum for your friends’ family.

A slow, deep breath settles your irritation when you notice how her hands waver near your throat, no doubt your scent had tipped the other omega off. 

”y-y-you’re sure you don’t want a quick s-s-soul-examination? I understand that you.. you may be hesitant but it would be p-purely professional...maybe j-just a status check?” Alphys enquired, hoping to ensure to you that there was no inappropriate intent behind her request.

Still you refused.

You knew what she’d see and you really didn’t want to explain the intense scarring on your soul, the baseline of your **HOPE**...

  
  
“Well... o-o-okay... just... just know you can come to me for anything, o-o-okay? Maybe n-not as a friend yet... but... as a patient y-you are entitled to a level of confidentiality that I c-c-can securely promise, as a doctor.” She gave you a toothy smile that you really couldn’t help but return, it was so goofy and sweet.   
  


The scientist explained that the field system could register specific magics as not to hinder any soul living in the radius of its protective barrier. Supposedly it stretched from your living-room where it was installed to the borderline of your property, accomplished after you gave her a glimpse at the ownership papers from your study.

All a matter of measurements and calculations.

Alphys was an amazing monster, so smart and capable. You say as much to the sputtering omega, earning a rambunctious blush to paint the soft yellow of her face with a lovely red.   
  


Adorable.

  
It was only after she registered your magic to the security system, Papyrus’ and Blue’s as well after you consented, and explained how all of the new installations in your home worked did she stop on your porch to look at you once more.

A hand fishing in one of the lumpy pockets of her labcoat.

Was she going to be cold walking back to town?

”T-t-the queen wanted me to give this to you, ah, it’s something we d-d-developed in the underground to aid omegas to function in society.” She mused, pulling out a leather strip with a metallic charm embedded in the material and handed it off for you to examine with curious phalanges.

The leather was light and soft against your bones, the charm heavy and cold. Your browbones furrow as you thumb over the seamless ends.   
  


“It’s a called a c-c-collar... it fastens magically a-a-and suppresses your s-scent...” the yellow scaled dame explained, scratching the back of her neck nervously.

You made a face, flipping the choker over to look at the charm.

It looked almost like a star but with only four points, the sight was curious as your finger traced over the craftsmanship of the silver metal. Looking to Alphys you notice.

”You’re not wearing one...” 

That made her splutter anew as that comely red returned to her face and a nervous sweat broke out on her forehead, her eyes adverting, “t-that’s because my s-s-scent isn’t as s-s-strong with a ma—partner! With a p-partner! Unclaimed o-o-omegas are more... p-p-palpable to the other genders... _alphas_ especially... t-that’s why the queen... r-requested I bring one over when I came...”

Her words lingered in your mind when you returned inside and passed the two skeleton males to charge into your bedroom, thankfully neither treaded past the barrier to your private space despite the concern bleeding off both in wisps of blueberrypie and cinnamon.

You finally began to dress for this evening, knowing that you’d be following Papyrus and Blue back to their own home to make dinner. You’d be surrounded by other skeleton monsters for the first time in five years, what’s more they weren’t even related to you.

This was a whole new ballgame.   
  


You opted to wear black jeans, appreciating the snugness to the magic coating your legs and fastening them with a skull-buckle, lime gems glinting within the sockets of the heavy accessory, paired with a simple lavender shortsleeved blouse with pearl buttons. 

There was something to be said about the fashion that you had missed out on back on the island, so many brands and materials you never thought could exist.

It fit nicely.

You eyed the collar resting on your dresser last. Would it work? You were going to a home that housed alpha monsters, as a single omega it was your responsibility to take every step in your own safety. 

The _queen_ had wanted you to wear it...

You were conflicted, on one hand your soul still ached about how Toriel had showed up to your home and taken the reins for your situation with the skeletal neighbours but on the other it made sense that the motherly monster would see to your health, even if it had a bit overstepping for a grown woman to treat another woman like a child.

She only wanted you to be safe.

A knock on the door interrupted your train of thought. You’d pulled on the strip of leather, relishing the weight of its charm resting against your bones and greeted the two boys waiting anxiously at your bedroom door. 

Blue was the first to brighten up at the sight of you, Pap seemed to be in a daze as his focus bounced from your homely attire to the accessory on your neck.

“You guys ready to head to your place? We’ll need to arrive early if you want dinner to be ready for your brothers and cousins...” you muse, striding past both while Blue tailed after you with a cheerful chirp.

”MAIDEN! YOU LOOK SO NICE! DOES THIS MEAN YOU WILL BE STAYING FOR DINNER AFTER OUR COOKING SESSION?” his star-lit eyelights made more of your nervousness melt away as you gave a shy shrug. 

Stopping at the front door to slip on your boots and put on your jacket, “let’s just see how everything goes first, alright Blue? I don’t want to be stepping on any toes...” 

Papyrus was close behind, tying his signature scarf around his neck with his bag from the sleepover hanging off an arm. “NONSENSE, DEAR NEIGHBOUR! THERE ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH SEATS AT OUR TABLE FOR YOU TO PARTAKE IN THE MEAL WITH US! IT WILL BE FINE!”

  
You weren't so sure, but you didn’t voice your apprehension. _Yet_.

It was still there, nibbling away at your subconscious as you walked with an arm being hugged by the two alphas. Your eyelights bouncing about worryingly the further you grew from your cozy cottage home.

When you were near the driveway leading toward the mansion it struck you head on, a ringing starting in your skull as your breaths shortened and turned almost raspy. You could feel gloved hands squeeze your upper arms, both Blue and Papyrus seemingly attempting to silently reassure you.  
  


Closer... closer still. 

You were almost up the walkway to the extravagant looking front-doors when your darting eyelights caught something in the treeline at the edge of the property.

The dense pine-trees made it hard but you swear you saw something there, though when you tried to focus on that spot in particular... there was nothing.

A trick of the snow, perhaps?

You dug your heels in at the first step onto the mansion’s porch, bleating. “C-Can you smell me?!” Both monsters halted, looking down to you as if you sprouted another skull.

”WHAT?” , “WHAT DO YOU MEAN, DEAR NEIGHBOUR?”

”My scent, can you smell it? A-Alphys gave me a thing but I don’t know if it works and I...” oh stars, you were rambling.

The two males gave each other a look before seemingly smelling the air for your benefit. Blue blinked and Papyrus gave a shake of his head, you felt your anxiety beginning to ebb.   
  


“NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT, MAIDEN... NO, THE MAGNIFICENT BLUE DOES NOT SMELL YOU.. PAPY?” The shorter looked to the skeleton in question who gave his beaming smile to both.

”THE GREAT PAPYRUS DOES NOT SMELL ANYTHING EITHER! DO NOT FRET DEAR NEIGHBOUR, YOU ARE SCENTLESS!” he assured, melting that last sliver of doubt from your mind.

They couldn’t smell you... you didn’t have a scent. 

The one thing that identified you as omega, as meek... was gone. It was invigorating!  
You felt a sudden confidence that you’d only known back on the island. 

You felt like yourself again...

As Papyrus opened the right door and Blue the left you felt as if you could do this, you could face this evening head on. A gust of mingled scents tickled your nonexistent nose...

And then your eyelights landed on the most intimidating looking skeleton you’d ever seen in all your life.  
  


Tall as Papyrus, this one was far more angular with a domineering posture, fanged, and had a scar marring their eyesocket. 

His attire was dark, bold, intimidating at every thread and spiked stud.  
It suited him. 

What really caught your attention the most were his eyelights.  
  


They were a bright and unforgiving blood red, and they were staring straight, at, **you**.


	13. Cooking with Bones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You may have misread Edge. A casserole is decided upon!

Oh stars, would the world just open up and swallow you whole already?

Anything would be better than the burning stare searing into your back while you diced peppers, Papyrus and Blue bouncing between counters to see to their own tasks for the dish.

You don’t know what you did to earn the ire of this particular alpha, you thought that you were going to at least make a better impression with your visit than... well, _this_.

It started after you managed to pull your pinpricked eyelights off the stone-still male guarding the entrance to the mansion.

Papyurs and Blue greeting him in a rush and all but dragged you past the edgy skeleton, ignoring the rumble from him as they passed.   
  


When Papyrus took your coat for you, you heard it. 

The hiss of air being pulled between teeth... between fangs. Your shoulders hitched at the sound, whipping your head around to glance at the third alpha in alarm only to see him stomping off further into the home.   
  


_What_? 

Did you do something?

Was it your attire?

You didn’t understand, you thought the ensemble was nice. Not too flashy for a first meeting and not too dressy to cook a meal, although you knew Papyrus would insist you wear an apron.

Combing your phalanges through the silken magic of your hair you would discard your boots at the door and followed along after your two excited friends into the mansion’s depths.

The insistent tug of Blue on your hand had all but hauled you past the main room and into an unbelievably large kitchen decked out with all the bells and whistles that would make the human Betty Crocker jealous.

Papyrus insisted he wanted to make a pasta dish, fishing out a rather bulky cookbook with a box shaped robot poised suggestively with a chef hat and spatula on the cover. 

You recognize it from your media lesson with Alphys, Mettaton, the robot superstar of the underground and from what you’ve had in requests and commissions, they were rising to fame on the surface swiftly.

Blue insisted that they make tacos as he tied a bright blue apron around himself, the words “ _Bone_ -appétit” across the front with a steamy bone. Pap countered that they always had tacos on Saturdays, which led to a rousing argument of what was superior.

Pasta or Tacos?

You couldn’t help but watch as the two’s personalities bounced off each-other like jumping beans, a hand clasped over your mouth to hide your smile but the delight was clear in your eyelights..

They were such goofs. You find yourself shaking as you restrain your giggles.

”MAIDEN, TELL HIM! TACOS ARE FAR MORE DELICIOUS AND ELABORATE THAN A MERE DISH OF PASTA AND SAUCE, AND SO WE SHOULD MAKE TACOS!” Blue suddenly roped you into the conversation, bringing their eyelights to you as the tie-breaker.

”IF SHE WILL SAY ANYTHING, IT WILL BE THAT PASTA IS MUCH MORE DELECTABLE AND LESS GREASY THAN MERE TACOS! DEAR _____! TELL HIM! WHAT’S MORE, THERE ARE FAR MORE DISHES THAT CAN BE MADE FROM PASTA!” Papyrus huffed, giving a beckoning gesture to you, who was currently tying on your own green apron with comical font across your bosom reading _“Kiss the Skeleton”_.

Being addressed you glanced up with a deer in the headlights expression, sockets wide.

  
Oh dear...

You didn’t want to pick sides, both foods were good in your opinion. “W-Well I like both pasta.. and tacos.. and both are very delicious.. Ah... what if you two maybe combined them?”

In the face of their confusion you would raise your hands up in a mercy gesture, “Ever heard of taco macaroni and cheese casserole? Or maybe Macaroni tacos? One is a deep dish with pasta, meat, an assortment of cheeses and spice, and then you add desired your vegetables.. and then the other is just macaroni and cheese with beef in a taco shell and then topped like a normal taco with lettuce and salsa and veggies...”

Were you rambling? 

You feel like you were rambling.

The pensive look on your friends’ faces twisted your soul with a familiar anxiousness, would they disagree? Disregard your words? The idea was pretty ridiculous now that you thought about it more, what were you thinking?

Papyrus and Blue looked at eachother, seemingly coming to some sort of silent agreement before Pap turned his sunshine smile onto you, “BRILLIANT IDEA, DEAR NEIGHBOUR! I DO BELIEVE THAT WOULD BE A MOST FITTING MEAL FOR TONIGHT!”

”INDEED, MAIDEN! THE CASSEROLE WOULD BE PERFECT! THEN EVERYBODY WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE THEIR OWN PLATES AS THEY DESIRED! ALTHOUGH I INSIST YOU TRY THE GREAT BLUE’S FAMOUS FRIENDSHIP TACOS NEXT TIME!” Blue chimed in, clapping his hands together once and drawing your attention to them.

He too had disregarded his gloves in the name of cooking. Had you thought to look at Blue’s hands yesterday evening? You don’t think you had.

They looked large, maybe not as big as Papyrus’ hands but just as gentle.

You feel your speckled cheekbones warm, eyelights softening as you contemplate the sweet skeletons buzzing about the kitchen with you. They really were gentle souls...

A curt scoff behind you made the three of you flinch, turning toward the dining room across from the kitchen space where a glaring alpha now known as Edge was now seated with a leg crossed over his knee and arms folded. 

Observing. Unimpressed. 

The warmth on your cheekbones chilled as you met that red glare once more, seeing the silent challenge in those glowing embers as they bore into you.

Daring you to engage him. 

Still the skeleton said nothing, merely taking to watching while Papyrus and Blue got to work in fishing out the supplies needed for the dish you suggested. 

The two males querying what they would need every so often drew your attention back to them quickly, allowing you to miss the flit of irritation that crossed Edge’s skull when you finally looked away.   
  


And so now here you were, still feeling the sullen male’s stare digging into your spine and chipping away at your patience while you readied the vegetables for the casserole. It felt so... _judging_.

You couldn’t stand it. He was being so outwardly hostile and you’d not even said a word to him.

Blue eagerly seasoned the meat of the dish, explaining how the spices were a special mix of herbs he had perfected during his time in the underground.   
  
You took the glitter from the skeleton before he could add it to the bowl.

Papyrus had prepped the pasta, simple macaroni, and was currently deciding on what cheeses he would add to the casserole. You had explained earlier that it would be a very gooey dish, soul-food.

That seemed to excite him, the sweet skeleton getting the idea that the _perfect_ mingle of cheeses to achieve such a feat was a task only accomplishable of a master chef such as The Great Papyrus.

”NYEHEHEH! IT SAYS HERE THAT METTATON RECOMMENDS CHEDDAR, GRUYERE AND GOUDA FOR A TRULY CREAMY MAC’ AND CHEESE!” Pap chirped as his eyelights skimmed the pages of his book, already bouncing over to the double-doored fridge to fetch the cheeses. 

You gave a shrug of your shoulders, musing as you slid the small cubes of bellpepper into a small bowl and snagged the bundle green onion sitting on the counter to garnish the dish. Lining each evenly before you slid the blade across the cutting board with ease.

“why don’t you stray from the book just slightly, Papy? A true chef experiments with his recipes for optimal flavour. I recommend Fontina cheese in place of the Gruyere, if you have it that is... both have the same nutty flavour but Fontina is a bit more buttery, it might compliment the dish better...” 

You could hear the alpha in question make a contemplative sound from the fridge and more rustling through its contents while Blue chimed in cheerfully. “THE GREAT BLUE SUGGESTS WE ALSO TOP THE DISH WITH MONTEREY JACK AFTER IT’S BAKED! IT ALWAYS GIVES MY TACOS THAT STRINGY GOODNESS WITH EVERY BITE! WHAT’S MORE ITS SWEETNESS WILL ADD TO THE CASSEROLE!”

A low growl sounded off from behind you, sending shivers along your stiff spine and making you spare a fleeting glance toward the dining-room once more. 

Edge was glowering now, looking almost like an overgrown child being left out of a game. Bordering on pouting. It would have been amusing if you weren’t so wary of him.

Still, you make the decision to ignore Edge for the time being while you finished the last of your cutting. Blue and Pap got the casserole prepped in a lovely crystal dish and slid the concoction of pasta, seasoning, meat, and cheeses into the preheated oven.

You were swift with the knife, barely thinking on the task when you accidentally nicked a phalange, the sting snapped you out of the clouds with a hissed breath slipping through your teeth. “ _Shit_!”

The three souls were on you in an instant, there were two more you could sense just at the stairs and another much more familiar soul was just outside the mansion. Stretch?

Sweet stars, how many fucking skeletons lived here?!

Edge reached you first, surprisingly, with speed unmatched by your friends despite the two sweeter skeletons being in the kitchen space with you.

His hand clutched the wrist of your injured hand, small rivulets of pink magic seeping from the cut in bone on your finger and down the length of your palm, trickling over the alpha’s phalanges in the process. 

Your mind was whirling, breath caught in your non-existent throat as you found yourself staring up at the looming Edge as he held your hand up to his face to analyze the nick as if it were something life threatening.

In truth, the slice had barely faltered your **HP**.

A damage of two, given the intent you had put behind your task, you weren’t thinking about it and really that was your mistake.

And then he spoke, his sharp tone shaking you to your marrow. “ **FOOLISH OMEGA! DON’T YOU KNOW HOW TO CUT SIMPLE VEGETABLES WITHOUT INJURING YOURSELF LIKE SOME BABYBONES?** ” Edge scoffed as he drew you closer to himself despite the protests of your friends from behind you, drowning you in a rich scent of fresh raspberries and dark chocolate. 

_Heady_.

It pulled at your soul in the strangest of ways.

_Holy shit._

You were never so grateful for the new accessory around your neck, or else this alpha would definitely catch the apprehension and fear bleeding off you in the same rivulets as your magic was from your digit.

“ **HONESTLY, SUCH A FRAGILE SKELETON IS AN INSULT TO OUR SPECIES! BE MORE CAREFUL! YOU IMBECILE!** ” you fight the urge to flinch at his grating volume, opting for shocked silence instead, trying not to gape like a fish out of water.

He was just so intimidating! So tall! While Papyrus’ height gave you a sense of comfort when the alpha hugged you or stood near, with Edge it just made your soul flutter like a nervous hummingbird dancing the Macarena. His blunt insult didn’t even register to you in that moment.

He made you very, very, _very_... _~~flustered~~_ nervous.

Why was everyone so much taller than you, damnit!

You must have spaced out for a minute because next thing you knew the looming alpha was releasing your wrist with a crimson plaster around your index finger and turning away to the sink, removing his fingerless gloves to rinse your magic off his hand.

The next second you were engulfed in worrying scents of cinnamon and something you hadn’t caught on Blue before... bluebells? The two males fretting over you and scolding about your lack of focus when handling dangerous kitchenware.

  
You apologize halfheartedly but your eyelights never strayed from Edge, your own stare burning into the back of his skull much like he’d been earlier with you.

  
The skeleton acted as if he hadn’t done anything in the first place. His scowl having returned as he stood leaning stiffly against the counter in front of the sink, arms crossed.  
  
All you could think was how gentle he'd been despite the harshness in his tone when snatching you up, never pulling too hard when he’d turned your hand around.

Maybe...

”______! IT WILL BE SOME TIME BEFORE THE CASSEROLE IS READY, WOULD YOU CARE TO JOIN THE MAGNIFICENT BLUE IN MAKING A JIGSAW PUZZEL IN HIS ROOM?” Blue snapped you out of your train of thought with his question and insistent tug on your arm, seemingly ignoring the low growls of the other two souls still in the kitchen.

”uh, well I...” you began nervously only to be cut off by another voice,

”NONSENSE! CLEARLY, THE DEAR NEIGHBOUR WOULD PREFER JOINING THE GREAT PAPYRUS IN COMPLETING A WORD JUMBLE IN MY ROOM!” Papyrus countered as he snagged your other wrist to pull you away from the cyan-toned skeleton, who narrowed his sockets at the taller challengingly.  
  


“Guys, I don’t—“ you try again, sweat dotting your forehead as you’re being gently pulled between the two alphas. Not quite hard enough to dislodge an arm but enough for your hair to bounce with every tug from the bickering monsters.  
  


Rougher hands caught your soft midsection from behind, you magic barely giving under the pressure, lifting your petite build off the tile floor with an surprised squeak ripping through your teeth as both sets of hands released your wrists.

The ceiling of the kitchen was suddenly much closer to your head than you could imagine while Edge’s authoritative voice boomed over the two protesting alphas below you. “ **NEITHER OF YOU WILL BE TAKING THE OMEGA TO YOUR ROOMS! IT IS HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE! IT IS ALSO UNPROFESSIONAL TO LEAVE AN OVEN UNATTENDED WHILE IT IS ON, YOU NINCOMPOOPS! USE YOUR** **SKULLS!!** ” You felt like a toy being held out of reach of two arguing children, it would have been mortifying if you weren’t so startled,

 **”NOW** **YOU MAY FETCH SOMETHING TO DO IN THE DINING ROOM WITH THIS FEMALE BUT NOTHING MORE THAN A THREE-HUNDRED PIECED PUZZLE, _BLUE_! YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO CLEAN UP TO SET THE TABLE WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT**” Edge added scoldingly, making the shorter huff while Papyrus stared at you with obvious concern clear in his features.

It took the star-eyed skeleton leaving the kitchen for your captor to set you down with a satisfied nod, finally leaving you and Papyrus to the space to disappear elsewhere in the mansion without another word. 

Pap stared after him with some unreadable expression while you focused on calming the thundering of your soul. “ARE YOU ALRIGHT, ________?” he asked softly, to which you gave a shy nod in response, anything else was beyond you.

Really, these skeletons were going to be the end of you.


	14. Dining Experience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting more of the family. Some of these skeletons eating habits are... questionable.

The three of you sat at the dining table, Blue and Papyrus were dominating the puzzle while you sifted through the pieces and organized them into piles according to colour.

It was a thoughtless task and helped keep your mind off the insistent presence of the other male. Who took to popping back into the room and into the kitchen repeatedly.

He stared at you every so often still as you conversed with the more energetic souls at the table.  
  


Odd.

Edge would get up periodically to check on the casserole, humming and hawing about certain methods that could have been used instead during prepping of the meal.

You don’t pay it much mind or let it bother you, it was just nice to make something with Pap and Blue again.   
  


However, you find yourself growing tense when Stretch made his appearance. The lanky skeleton greeted his brother and Papyrus, though he called him something else... _Creampuff_? Before enquiring how the sleepover went.  
  


Your browbones furrow but you keep to your task, the puzzle was halfway completed and you were starting to make out the image.

A bucket of... puppies?   
  


You could feel eyelights on you the entire time, that all too familiar pulling on your soul that itched something fierce was enough for you to know Stretch was staring you down while his brother went off about the movies the trio had watched last night.

You weren’t paying attention, mind too clouded with your only worry.

Was he angry that the queen got involved?

You don’t really know for sure but you can’t find it in you to glance up to see, seemingly finding this jigsaw far more fascinating.

Well, fate decided you couldn’t complete this puzzle.

  
“hey pap, is that skeledame here yeeee...oh, heh, so you are here, kid.” The lax voice that entered the dining room turned wary and your head snapped up immediately at the sound.   
  


Another tug at that rock of a soul sitting in your ribs.

What was up with that? You make a mental note to check out your soul when you got home.

Blaring eyelights clashed as you met Sans’ stare head on as tension filled the room.

You could almost hear when Edge noticed two other skeletons had joined the small group when the oven door slammed closed a little too hard, making Stretch and Blue jolt at your left.

You, Sans and Papyrus were unfazed, though Papyrus did scold Edge about treating the oven like a formidable foe.

Sweat speckled the skull of the blue-hooded skeleton as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels, growing more and more fidgety under your narrowed stare, silent as the grave.

You made him uneasy.

_Good_ , now he could know how it felt to be unsettled in his own home.

”BROTHER! HOW NICE OF YOU TO COME OUT OF THE BASEMENT TO JOIN US! I DO BELIEVE DINNER SHOULD JUST ABOUT BE READY, CORRECT, EDGE?” Papyrus greeted with a tight smile, hoping to defuse the tension in the room with the mention of the dish sitting in the oven.

There was an answering grunt from the black-clad skeleton in the kitchen as he strutted toward the adjacent cupboards to get out plates.

Blue perked up and would clap his hands together, pushing from the table in a rush. “THEN ME AN PA—S-STRETCH CAN GO TELL THE OTHERS! COME NOW, BROTHER! BLACK, MUTT, AND RED MUST BE FETCHED!”

And the bandana’d skeleton was gone, zooming out of the dining room and up the stairs while the lankier male glanced to you once more before rising and tailing after his brother slowly.

You heard Edge growl, eyelights darting from the stairs where Blue had bolted and then the puzzle on the table.

Getting the gist of what was irking the skeleton and began disassembling your and your friends efforts and tidying the cardboard printed pieces back into their box, stifling your smile at the satisfied huff that escaped the grumpy alpha while doing so.  
  


Papyrus left for the kitchen with one last pointed stare at his brother, fetching utensils while the edgier alpha took the casserole out of the oven.   
  


You were closing the box of puzzle pieces when Sans finally spoke up again, his voice slightly closer to your right. He must had walked further into the dining-room while you were cleaning.   
  


“you... look well, kid. heh.. forest been treating you well?” He tried, his eyelights on you warily.  
  


“It always has...” you sniff, earning a tired chuckle from the male.   
  


“i bet, probably feelin’ a bit better after me and my cuz started _leaf_ -ing you alone though... right?” He gave you half-assed finger-guns, though there was something in his eyelights that you couldn’t quite place.

With browbones furrowed you would pick up the puzzlebox to hold to your chest, side-eyeing the punning skeleton.

“I guess...” you mumble before striding toward the kitchen jut as Papyrus came out with Edge to set the table, both seeming to give the two of you a curious glance in-between when Sans followed past them after you.

”have you... felt any different at all? maybe... warmer? oooor like.. yer soul has felt... i dunno... off?” He was prying, a small speckle of sweat dotting his skull as tired sockets creased with his effort to stay aloof, his eyelights never leaving you as you set the puzzle on an empty counter.

”Sans... This really isn’t the time to— wait... what would you know about my sou—” You began, eyelights sharp as you stared the alpha down just as Blue’s chirp cut you off.

”THE MAGNIFICENT BLUE HAS RETURNED! EDGE! RED REFUSES TO LEAVE HIS ROOM!” he adds as he goes bouncing through the dining-room and into the kitchen with you and Classic, subtly stepping into the space between you and the other as he beamed a starry-eyed grin. “MAIDEN! ALLOW ME TO AID YOU IN BRINGING OUT THE TOPPINGS AND CASSEROLE! HAS EDGE ALREADY GOTTEN THE GARNISHING OF GREEN ONION AND MONTEREY-JACK?”

  
” **THAT DAMN LAZYBONES! I SHALL RETURN, I’VE MERELY A FEW THINGS TO REMIND MY BROTHER...** ” the alpha growled lowly, stomping out of the dining-room to climb the stairs.

  
Plumes of blueberry-pie chased away the smell of sodden moss and settled the nerves you hadn’t realized had gotten frazzled, your hitching shoulders settling as you offered Blue a faint smile and beckoned to the skeleton. “Sure, thanks Blue... I think he has, everything should be ready to go to the table.” you assure, passing off two bowls to your buzzing friend.

  
A new skeleton clicked his teeth together impatiently and would saunter over to the end of the table with a taller male shadowing him, the sound of heels tapping the floor following the shorter.

You recognize the scent of spicy caramel, the soft jingle of a dog-tag sends a current of shivers over your bones as you thoughtlessly step into the dining-room with your arms cradling the steaming casserole and two bowls of diced bell-pepper and tomato encased in wispy bubbles of pastel floating next to your skull.

Images flash in your mind in sudden bursts, pinned against an alleyway wall, the sound of bone colliding against bone in the middle of a street, the roar of a rageful alpha.

”MAIDEN?” Blue voiced behind you, noticing you halted mid-step toward the half-full table. You blink away the anxiety-laced visions with a soft hum, catching the attention of the new souls now seated in the dining-room.

”Sorry, sorry, spaced out a bit... ahah...” you confess and scuffle forward with the prickling sensation of a collection of eyelights locked on you the entire time.

_  
God damnit._

Mutt’s sights were already set on you the entire time, dark amusement was clear in his fanged smirk as he pushed himself to balance on the back-legs of his chair to prop and cross his feet atop the table. He was wearing the same attire that you’d seen the alpha in that night; fur-trimmed jacket, orange turtleneck, black skinny jeans... hightops?  
  


Blue circles around to set two bowls down on the table, one of minced jalapeños and another with onion before smacking the rude male’s feet off the table, making the once grinning skeleton yelp as his chair toppled with him in it.

“NO FEET ON THE TABLE, MUTT!”  
  


Stretch guffawed, the smack of the other’s skull hitting the floor with the weight of his chair sounding off in the dining-room under the cackling of Blue’s brother.

The newer skeleton on the other hand seemed to regard you with a light of fascination in his... blue eyelights? Ignoring the spectacle his now growling brother had caused.

His attire was more refined, though the theme was almost similar to Edge’s if you were to think about it.

Dark, sleek, classy.

No studding but somehow the simple ensemble was hard to pull ones eyes away from. With a black button-up with its sleeves rolled neatly up to his elbows, paired with what looked to be a crimson ascot around his neck and black jeans, crimson heeled boots.

He was regarding you with something almost calculating. Worrisome.

That familiar itch in your soul was really starting to worry you now, it just hadn’t stopped since you got to the mansion

.

Sans words ring in your skull, is this what had he meant by your soul feeling off...?

You set the casserole in the center of the table on two waiting flower-shaped doilies, it was then that you noticed a varied of different bottles that had been set out at some point.

Were those _condiments_?  
  


An audible crash rumbled from above the room, making the very table quake with the force behind it before muffled shouts sounded off through the dining-room ceiling. You hear sighs come from several of the skeletons around you while the shouting grew more audible as it traveled the second floor toward the top of the stairway.

”i fuckin’ said i ain’t hungry, boss! put me down god damnit!” a low voice snarls with a heavy brooklyn accent laced in every word, it was a pitch lower than Sans and just as shiver inducing.

You slowly take the seat next to Papyrus, noticing how your friend seemed to be growing slightly distressed. He had mentioned dinners could be... hectic.

” **YOU _WILL_ COME DOWNSTAIRS AND DINE WITH THE REST OF US, BROTHER! I WILL NOT HAVE YOU EMBARRASSING ME WITH YOUR RUDE BEHAVIOUR! NOW STOP SQUIRMING BEFORE I DROP YOUR SORRY COXXYX DOWN THESE STAR-FORSAKEN STAIRS!**” Edge demanded in a near roar while his polished heeled leather boots coming stomping down the stairs and into view. Slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes was a writhing skeleton who was currently kicking his legs and spouting off expletives like a sailor.

”i don’ fuckin’ wanna! fuck you care if some monsta thinks anythin’ bout me, i sure as hell don’t! she can go and kiss my ass if she got any problems with me!“ the furious alpha ranted,

  
Plumes of a rust like scent wafting off the bundle of bones, oblivious to the stares of the rest of the household as Edge entered the dining-room and toward two empty seats on the left side of the table, though you swear the taller almost looked irked to see you quietly saddled between Pap and Blue with their respective brothers sided beside them, taking up the right side of the dinner table.

” **ENOUGH BROTHER, YOU’RE ACTING FOOLISH! NOW BEHAVE YOURSELF, OR ELSE YOU’LL BE CLEANING THE MANSION UNTIL DAWN**.” Edge rumbled with obvious irritation as he smoothly seated his brother in the first seat with the other grunting out as the still grumbling skeleton landed before drawing back the other seat to settle himself, heaving a sigh with phalanges pinching the bridge between his sockets.

He looked so done with this evening. “ **THANK YOU FOR WAITING**...”

“Of course...” you finally speak up while the clink of silver on dish-ware fills the tense silence of the table when monsters began making their plates, making the final skeleton to arrive glance up from his glaring contest with his empty plate to look toward the unfamiliar voice.

Candy red eyelights voided when they landed on you, a sudden flush of red spreading like wildfire across the shark-toothed alpha’s skull while a similar red sweated down his skull.

Well that was a somewhat familiar reaction, Sans had almost been the same way when you found him in your house...

You try not to think about that.

You wanted to say more but before the words could form you find your mind short-circuiting at what happened next, watching as several skeleton brothers at the table committed a sin to the laws of cooking.

Sans was already chowing down on what looked to be a monstrous concoction of the casserole and ketchup, you idly wonder if he could taste anything else but the sugared tomato paste and hope he at least added some diced tomato under all that.

Stretch was drizzling _honey_ atop his after adding two spoonfuls of diced bell pepper ... well this was getting weird.

Mutt had gone ham with the jalapeños before suddenly dousing his plate in barbecue sauce with an obvious smirk when he’d caught you staring.

You suppress a shudder and look to your own plate before Papyrus took the liberty of serving you a sizeable portion of the steaming, creamy casserole.

These skeletons were so... oh sweet stars Red was bathing his plate in mustard!

The flatulent squelch of the bottle making the two hooded skeletons snicker and their brothers quickly scold them accordingly, their boisterous voices ringing in your skull.

You merely brought your hand up to hide your brimming mirth, the sight of the mixture of condiment and food may have been disgusting but you weren’t above giggling over a suggestive noise.

It seemed the guilty party had noticed, however, as his fanged smile widened slightly before his own brother’s disgusted grunt made him duck his skull and focus on eating, more sweat speckling his polished crown.  
  
  


Topping your casserole with your desired toppings you would begin to partake in the meal as well, giving a soft hum of appreciation as the creamy texture tickled at your magic-summoned pallet.

Pap and Blue had done wonderfully once more, this was the second time you got the opportunity to enjoy your two friends’ cooking.

Your hand rose to your cheek as you savoured your bite, oblivious to the sudden attention you’d drawn to yourself from several souls at the table with the action.

Pleased plumes of clementines and blueberries was the strongest, being that the two were seated next to you but there were hints of that rich raspberry and roasted honeycomb, rain and caramel... cherries and...pomegranate?   
  


What the ever-loving-fuck?

Why did all these skeletons smell so damn good? It was like a god damn candied fruit medley in this house.  
  


“you sure are starin’ pretty hard there edge, take it that ya haven’t had much experience with omegas before?” Sans rumbled lowly from Papyrus’ side, pulling you out of your trance so you could open your sockets and glance up at Edge across the table from you, the faintest of reds licking at the crests of his cheekbones at being caught.

” **OF COURSE NOT! YOU KNOW SUCH WEAK MONSTERS WOULD HAVE NEVER SURVIVED IN _OUR_ UNDERGROUND**.” Edge rasped irritably, drumming the clawed points of his phalanges against the table next to his plate while Red let out an agreeing grunt.

” **Indeed. Much Like Edge and Red, The Monsters With Such A Fragile Presentation Had Been Dusted Within A Year Of Going Underground Where We’re From** ,” a voice sounded in correlation, it was almost gravely and yet it held almost the same volume as the three perma-shouting skeletons at the table.

It seemed it had been Mutt’s brother who had been dining silently until now, those calculative eyelights lingering on your confused expression from his seat.

_Their_ underground?

Where _they’re_ from?

You don’t quite understand, seeing as you’d met plenty of omega monsters from the underground when you arrived at the camp five years ago.

They’d all been underground, so why did these skeletons act as if they’d been in two different _worlds_?

” **I MERELY WISHED TO ASK OUR GUEST A FEW QUESTIONS, WHILE THINGS SEEM RELATIVELY CALM TONIGHT** ,” the angular alpha continued, nodding toward you as if he were already inquiring.

You swallowed you most recent bite of casserole and would bring the napkin that Blue had been so kind to fetch you to dab at your teeth, giving a consenting hum to the skeleton who seemed to straighten his posture further, though you idly worried he may snap his spine from sitting so stiffly.

” **WHAT IS YOUR FONT, OMEGA**.” it almost sounds like a command rather than a question but you blink owlishly at him all the same, not quite having expected _that_ to be the first question.

”uh... I’m sorry, my what?” You muse, wanting to be certain you’d heard him clearly. Although with his volume, that seemed rather silly.

Curious eyelights were on you, you could feel each pair while Edge repeated. “ **YOUR FONT. I AM UNFAMILIAR WITH THE STYLE OF WHICH YOU SPEAK, IT IS UNLIKE ANYTHING I’VE SEEN IN THE UNDERGROUND**.” his blood red eyelights probed you for an answer almost impatiently, clearly he expected one that instant.

”oh.. uh... my _font_ , golly.. I forgot that skeleton monsters could speak it.. ahah..” you commented lamely, a hand moving to scratch your cheek almost bashfully despite your soul sputtering with a rush of nerves.

The alpha didn’t so much as blink, clearly still waiting as were the others with baited breath if the lack of moving silverware was any hint of that.

“My uh.. my mother once called it _Coquette_...” the answer escapes you rather warily, weighed with wisps of grief for your lost family. “She used to think it was odd.. since she was a more of an italic speaking skeleton.. but my father was very bold... so she thinks I got it from him.” You conclude with a hint of melancholy in your tone.

Now that you thought about it, the souls of the household seemed to share similar fonts... of which two of the skeletons seemed to be named after, you wonder if it’s hereditary.

The sudden silence was deafening at the table before Red spoke up. “yer parents? where’re they, then?” He rumbled, absentmindedly swiping his red tongue over his phalanges for any hints of mustard now that his plate was empty once more.

”They dusted...some time ago... so...” you slowly shrug, prodding at the remaining bits of pasta on your plate with a sudden sullenness, your sockets shadowed by your pastel bangs. You feel a mittened hand move to pat your shoulder gently, urging you to shoot a gentle smile to Papyrus as he looked down at you with worrying eyelights.

You were fine.

Sans was the next to speak up, leaning forward to peer around his brother at you. “how’d that happen?” The way he said it grated on your nerves, his tone reading as if he were asking about the weather and not the loss of life.

You weren’t fine.

”Well actually, I’d really rather not—“ you begin to shut down the conversation...

Mutt suddenly roused. ”Maybe it was another monster?” he offered, scratching under his chin with an almost bored expression, Black was merely observing the souls at the table with his hands folded under his chin and elbows on the table.  
  


“ _What_? No they—“

“DON’T BE SILLY MUTT, WHAT MONSTER WOULD FIGHT ANOTHER MONSTER? A _BOSS_ MONSTER?” Blue mused innocently, missing the glance exchanged between the slouched alpha and his brother while Red barked a laugh, slamming a fist against the table and jolting the collection of plates and silverware. Edge growled at his brother, smacking him upside the back of the skull with an inaudible scolding that didn’t seem to faze the snickering male.  
  


“Then it was a human?” Mutt tried again, skull tilting as he thumbed over the tag of his collar as he kept his eyelights locked on you, weighing your expression to see where it fell with his assumption.

”N-No, it wasn’t a—“ your sockets pricked with little dewdrops of rose, the buzz of voices picking up as he attempted to guess your family’s demise.

  
Papyrus had brought an arm over your shoulder, the strength of that normally comforting citrus and spice aroma doubling in an effort to soothe his friend but you only trembled under the supportive limb.

Why did it matter to Mutt? You couldn’t understand why this was even a topic of conversation.

Even with the collar muting your scent, it seemed that four of the eight skeletons had noticed your distress. The collective of souls growing rowdier with every passing second, yours included as your nerves began to warp.

“ **They Must Have Been Weak To Have Dusted To Anything Else...** ” Black surmises dully, his eyelights drifting to the side with disinterest while his brother rumbled something to him. The skeleton waving him off with his own muttering.

It sparked a flame under your soul, eating away at the fraying thread holding your composure together as you bow your head.

How _dare_ he... 

”my p-parents were very strong monsters.. they lived for more than the time monsters had been imprisoned underground...” your voice was soft and unsteady, hands curling into fists slowly. 

What was with some of these skeletons?

Always assuming...

“then ‘ow did they die, dollface?” Red leaned forward on his elbows, ducking under the grappling claw Edge attempted to snare the morbidly curious alpha with in order to try and keep his vulgar brother contained in his seat.  
  


**_SNAP!_ **

The threads fell away, your posture stiffening as you rose from your seat and slammed your palms flat against the dining table while hissing through your teeth. “ ** _I don’t want to talk about it!!_** ”

Your magic flared to life, lifting the emptied plates sitting on the table away from their owners without your permission.

Silence.

  
With a shaky breath you would repeat the words more softly, moving a hand to clutch your wrist before the it could visibly shake and mumbled “excuse me...”

You don’t feel the rivulets of pastel tears staining your freckled cheekbones. You ignore the burning stares of all the males at the table as you push away from the table and stalk away into the kitchen, taking the dirtied dishes along after you in that pastel glow of magic.

You don’t hear the hissed whispers of Edge and Stretch as they tear into the four insensitive skeletons at the table.

Don’t hear the slow steps of your friends as they come up behind you in the kitchen while you sniffle and scrub at the dishes angrily.

”Dear ______… You Do Not Have To Do The Dishes.. You Are Our Guest..” Papyrus started softly, not wishing to startle you as he stood by your right and took the plate you were about to rinse from your hands. The gentle alpha doing so in your stead.

”PAPY IS CORRECT, MAIDEN! YOU NEEDEN’T DIRTY YOUR HANDS, ESPECIALLY AFTER SOME OF OUR FAMILY HAS UPSET YOU...” Blue chimed in, taking the rinsed dish from Palyrus afterward to dutifully dry it. You let out a wet and broken laugh, the sound was weak and rasped.

”it’s fine you guys... you did most of the cooking, it’s only fair I clean... besides... I’d really like to have something to do with my hands... but I’d love some help” you confess, passing off another freshly scrubbed plate to Papyrus to repeat the cycle.

One after another the three of you got through that evening’s dishes, you to drain the sinks afterward with a soft sigh.

You manage to slip away from the your friends, excusing yourself for a minute of fresh-air as you find your way outside through the glass sliding-door at the back of the mansion.

Sure you can’t feel the cold but the breeze on your face and the clean scent of winter quells your emotional turmoil, if only for the moment.  
  


Staring out at the thick forest ahead you find yourself thinking that you should be getting home soon, it would be getting dark soon and tonight would be your first night with your new security system.

Hopefully you’d sleep sounder knowing you were safe within the confines of your cozy cottage.

Lost in thought, you don’t hear the slide of the door behind you as another soul steps outside to join you.

The one warning you have is the smell of sodden moss.


End file.
